The Revolution
by StillYDG'n
Summary: Harry Potter did not win the war, and Lord Voldemort has taken over. For his entertainment, twenty four Hogwarts students are thrown into the Forbidden Forest to fight to the death. AU. Hunger Games/Harry Potter. Many major character deaths
1. Reaping Day

I moved my chin up, looking at my reflection in the mirror. Large, deep blue eyes stared back at me. My blonde hair was straight, ending just a little before my chest. My uniform had faded, the black now a gray, the dark blue not so dark. If only I could afford new clothes.

My names Piper, or Pip for short. I guess when my mother named me she thought I would be a bright child, not the dull thing I am now. I never show any emotion. Ever. When I was younger I used to, but found it only led to anger and pain. So I bottle up my emotions and keep a blank face. It works in my favor quite well. I'm in my sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in Ravenclaw. Except it's not the school you probably remember.  
No, in fact, it's nothing like the old Hogwarts I've only heard about in stories. Stories that aren't even allowed to be told.  
You see, Harry Potter and his friends did not win the war. Oh, they were very close, believe me. But at the last second, Harry failed. He was hit with the killing curse, and the magical world as we knew it was uprooted. Death eaters took over. The Dark Lord took over as Minister of Magic. Those who stood beside Harry in combat were executed. Ron and Hermione, his two best friends, were murdered in front of the whole Wizarding World. Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, Fred and Ginny Weasley. All of them, killed. I've heard, through whispers, that the rebellion lives on, quietly, so faded it's almost forgotten. Almost.

I was only one when it happened. My parents were killed for standing up for what they believe in. By some freak chance I was allowed to live, and was thrown into the hell that was the orphanage. Run by Sister Karen, one of the meanest witches you will ever meet. She knew how to keep us in line, that's for sure. I still have scars on my back.  
Ever since The Dark Lord took over, things have gone horribly wrong. Innocent people getting murdered for Death Eaters fun. Tortured souls wander around uselessly, because there really is no point in living anymore. I don't think I've seen anyone smile outside of Hogwarts actually.  
There is one day though, that has got to be the cherry on top of The Dark Lord's reign.

Reaping day.

Once a year, every Hogwarts student is lined up in the Great Hall according to their house. Six children from each house are reaped from the Goblet of Fire, and thrown into an arena to fight to the death. Twenty four innocent children, and only one will come out. These are known as the Hunger Games. They started about two years after The Dark Lord took over, when I was three.

Each year, starting with as soon as you come to Hogwarts, your name is put in. First years have their name put in once. When you're in your second year, your name is put in again once, and so on, until your seventh year. You'll have your name put in seven times, for the grand total of your name in twenty eight times. I'm in my sixth year, so my name will be in there twenty one times. You would think that was bad, but with so many other students, there's a pretty fair chance I won't get chosen.

Today is reaping day. In a week's time, twenty three of my schoolmates will be dead, one damaged beyond repair.

I walk out of the common room and down the halls, to the Great Hall. The halls are all empty, everyone probably already lined up while I was dawdling. It's eerily calm with no one around. Like I'm the only person alive. It helps settles my nerves.  
As I round the corner to the Great Hall, I see about seven people still waiting to go in. I don't speed up however; just keep my slow, day dreamy pace. When I arrive, Filch, still the loyal care taker, takes my finger and pricks it, inducing a drop of blood.

"Name?" He asks, even though he obviously knows it.  
"Piper McCartney" I answer dully. He nods and beckons for me to go inside.

I step past him and enter, heading over to the Ravenclaw section. I nod at the other students in my year, but don't say anything. I've never really been one for friends, so as I look at all my classmates consoling myself, I feel a slight pang of jealously. I brushed it away, friends weren't really my forte. I don't hate people; it's just friend's can cause you pain. On the other hand, they can give you immense joy. I'm always torn between the two.  
I take a deep breath as Professor Morgan steps up. He's a Death Eater, and the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He's actually one of the nicer teachers, and very rarely uses the Cruciatus Curse on students. His class is on of the only classes I attend on regular bases.  
It's not that I'm a rebel or anything; it's just that I don't really need to go to class. I'm what you call "gifted". You know, those kids who know everything and have never read a book about anything. I'm one of those kids. Except I do read books, lots of books. Most of them are fiction, but I do read quite a few necessary school books so I don't fail my tests. Being gifted can be annoying though, my thoughts are constantly jumbled, and sometimes I have to take a moment to sort my brain out. The only other two classes I go to regularly are Potions and Herbology. I don't care for the rest; it's quite easy to remember everything for the other classes. Professor Morgan snaps me out of my thoughts.

"Welcome, pupils." He begins, his deep voice ringing out in the room. "Today, we will begin the reaping for the 13th annual Hunger Games." He paused, looking out into the sea of kids. He moved over to the Goblet of Fire; the flames were now red, it was ready to put us to our death. "As usual, we will start with Slytherin girls." He looked at the death bringer, and a name shot out. He grabbed it and read off the name.

"Cynthia Mox"

A burly girl walked up and took her place on the stand. She was smirking, and it was no wonder, most Slyrtherin's loved going into the Hunger Games. It was usually them, or Gryffindor who would win. Professor Morgan continued on with the names.

"Kelly Jenka."

Ouch. She was huge. She would be hard to take down.

"Preena Little."

Her last name was quite the understatement.

"And now for the boys" Professor Morgan nodded, and began reading out the selected names.

"John Callo."

Holy hell he looked tough.  
"Kyle Jenka."  
Oh, siblings. Twins by the looks of it.

"And lastly, Jake Parksley"

I feel bad for him, a first year. He's still got some baby fat on him, has blonde hair and the greenest eyes I've ever seen. He steps up, looking scared as hell.

"And up next, Gryffindor girls…" The Goblet starts shooting out more names.

"Marissa Cornwell."

Average build. Blonde hair. Looks scared as well. She'll do well, probably.

"Alyssa Kigg."

Scrawny third year. Has a brave face though, I have to hand it to her.

"Nicole Shwartez."

A seventh year. She'll be another tough opponent.

The boys are called out.

"Mark Jones."

A third year as well. By the look on Alyssa's face, they are good friends. Or, I guess, were.

"Sal Heckmen."

A fourth year. Can't really tell much about him.

"Jeremy Huggunt."

Weird last name. A sixth year. Looks like he'll be a hard fight too.

Damn. Sizing everyone up, I can tell this is going to be a hard fight this year.

Next up is Hufflepuff.

"Alexis Clint."

A fifth year. She's average. And crying. The one thing you cannot do on reaping day is cry, sweetheart.

"Kate Foresst."

She's got bright red, poufy hair. She pulls away from a group of her friends who are crying, and walks to stage. Girls got guts.

"Sylvia Dunt."

A very pretty sixth year. But I know not to let her looks deceive me.

"And the boys for Hufflepuff…"

"Max Cornsbey"

A seventh year, but he's very scrawny. His posture could really use some work.

"Curtis DeFinkle"

Holy hell, this kid is huge. Not the muscle huge, though.

"Jack Stevensun."

A taller kid, who glances mournfully at Kate. Another reason I don't make friends, I don't want to have to kill them.

"And onto the Ravenclaw girls" Professor Morgan's voice is hollow, and I know he's upset by the pick of students. He always is.  
I can feel my nervousness rise as the names begin to flutter out. I can only pray to whatever God there is that I don't get picked.

"Isla Lenips"

She's in my year, I considered her one of my few 'acquaintances". Guess that little bond has been broken.

"Jill Page"

Another red head with lots of freckles and pretty blue eyes. Looks too nervous.

I can feel the pounding in my heart begin to lessen. One more Ravenclaw girl to go, and I'm in the clear for another year. Professor Morgan grabs the next slip of paper, and when he reads the name out, I almost vomit.

"Piper McCartney"

I have been reaped. In a matter of days, I will be dead. I slowly walk up to the Tributes Stand, keeping my face expressionless. Time for tears will be later. For now, I need to appear strong, to appeal to sponsors. I take my place and look into the crowd, not really seeing them. I blink a couple of times, and listen as the boys are called out.

"Dylan Kowlswell."

A fourth year.

"Michael Sosaskow"

Seventh year.

"And our final tribute is… James Burns."

A first year. He starts crying then and there.

They have taken their places. Jonathan Hughes, the Headmaster, steps forward, his expression gleeful. It disgusts me.

"Such a fine batch of tributes! Good luck to you all, _and may the odds be ever in your favor!"_

We are carted off into a long, dark hallway. Each tribute is led into their own private room. As I am pushed into mine, I hear to door lock behind me. I know I won't be able to open the door but I can't help myself, I jiggle the hand anyways. It won't budge. I sigh and turn around, taking in my room for the rest of the evening. I will be staying here until tomorrow morning, when the Hogwarts Express will come and we will take the train to the Ministry. There, will we be paraded around for a night, to try and get sponsors. We will have a week's training, a final interview, and then be thrown into the arena.  
I distract myself from these thoughts by looking around. There's a double bed against the black wall, with a rich, deep blue velvet blanket and pillow set. The only light is the soft light emitting from a fire place on the right side, accompanied by another velvet couch with long light blue strings at the arms. The floor is a dark brown wood, which goes almost perfectly with the blue. There is a dark brown mahogany dresser, and I presume the outfit I am required to wear for tomorrow will be in there. I sink down into the plush bed, not bothering to change out of my uniform.

I have been chosen to participate in the Hunger Games.

I will not win.

My life only has a matter of days left.

I push the access of pillows off, leaving me with one or two silk pillows. Good, I don't think I could sleep on velvet. I curl up under the warm covers. Since I have so little time left, I decide to think happy thoughts. Not that I have many.  
The first thought that comes to me is Draco Malfoy. He used to visit the orphanage and talk to the kids, but most of them ignored him, were scared by him. But not me.

He told me he was a Death Eater, but that he did not want to be one. His father had forced him to become one, even though he wanted nothing to do with any of that. He told me he and Harry had been friends; they had saved each other's lives. He would tell me stories of before The Dark Times, before The Dark Lord took over. Of how Hogwarts used to be. He told me they had a sport called Quidditch. That you would fly around on the broomsticks, looking for the Snitch and scoring goals. It sounded so much fun. He told me of Hogsmeade, a small town just outside of Hogwarts, where you could get Butterbeer, loads of sweets, and the best equipment for pranking your friends. My thoughts turn dark as I remember the day he was taken. He already wasn't supposed to be telling me all these things, but one day he told me of something I knew he never should of. Of the Order of The Phoenix. He told me before The Dark Times, this was a rebellion group already against The Dark Lord. Presumably, after they had lost the war, it had ended. But he told me it hadn't. He was in it. When I was of age, he would take me out of this hellhole and take me there, to help with the revolution. I had agreed, and was about to ask who was in it. How many people? Why couldn't they take me now?

But Sister Karen had been suspicious already of the stories Draco had been telling me, and this whispering drove her over the edge. She called the authorities, and Death Eaters stormed in, grabbed Draco, and dragged him off. I've never seen or heard of him since. When I asked Sister Karen she slapped me and told me to go to bed without dinner.

Perhaps that is what I should fight for, I think. Not for myself. But the revolution Draco had been so keen on me joining. If I can win, perhaps with my new status I can help convince others to join my cause. Maybe, just maybe, we can destroy The Dark Lord once and for all.  
I can't help but remember something Draco told me. Just before he was taken. He mentioned something about Horcruxes. That there was only one left. Destroy it, he said, and you can destroy Voldemort. I shuddered when he used that word. I've never said The Dark Lords name.  
After he told me that, I was committed to figuring out just what a Horcrux was. When I finally came across a book, (in the restricted section, no less) and I realized it could be anything, I almost stopped caring. But I was determined to continue on. I would've asked around, except I knew that would get me killed. So my research had to be alone, very, very secretive. Only in the middle of the night would I read or go out looking for books, out of fear someone would catch me and turn me in.  
I had narrowed the last Horcrux down to something that would be very personal to The Dark Lord. I bet my morning pumpkin juice The Order had knowledge on it.

So that was my plan. I would fight for our future. I would try my hardest to win. I would escape the arena, join The Order, and begin the fight for freedom. I wasn't sure how, but I was going to try.

Perhaps I would try to start a movement with my interview.


	2. The Train Ride

I woke up the next morning from my deep slumber to the sound of a loud gong. It was probably an alarm to get us all up. I stretched, the memories from the previous day flooding back into my mind. I closed my eyes, allowing a choked sob, before I took a deep breath and got out of bed. On the table was a tray with breakfast, and when I checked inside the dresser, there was the outfit I was supposed to wear for the train ride. It was simple, a light blue tunic with black pants. I quickly changed out of my uniform and into the new clothes, and secured my hair in a loose ponytail. I sighed and ate my breakfast slowly, sipping the tea as I stared into the flames of the fireplace. All of this was just happening so fast. Soon I would be in an area, fighting twenty three of my classmates to the death. Only two outcomes, life or death. How would I win? It would be hard enough to have to kill them, but then dealing with the aftermath would be a tremendous weight on one's shoulders. I've heard one of the victors went crazy with guilt and now resides in St. Mungos. The thought terrifies me, knowing it could very well happen to me if I win.  
I guess you never really win, because your mind would always be trapped in that arena. Little noises would be enough to set you off. Before long, my thinking is interrupted by the door swinging open. I stand up, looking at the intruder. A death eater, telling me it's time to go to the train. My body clenches with fear, but I force myself to move into the hallway. All the other Ravenclaw tributes are in a line, looking at the floor. I follow suit and we quietly leave. Soon, we're escorted onto a train compartment. I guess the other houses get their own quarters. Our area is a deep blue, like my room in the castle, with dark tables. It's quite big, a couple of couches, a giant table for eating, and another fire place. We just walk in, still sort of dazed. Our escort speaks up.  
"I need your wands" He's holding a box, with six spots for us to place our wands into. He chuckles at our faces. "Don't worry, you'll get them back. If 'ya win"  
I gulp, but calmly place my wand in the box. I know arguing would just be useless, and there's no point in trying to keep it for as long as I can. Like he said, we will get them back. If we win.  
He nods as James Burns puts his in last, and then closes the box. "Alright. I'll be leavin' now. Don' be gettin' into any fights. Won't do 'ya any good. Oh an' uh, there'll be someone else in 'ere soon to show 'ya to your rooms." He winks and leaves, closing the door softly behind him. We all gather at the main area, three large couches by the fireplace. I sit beside Isla Lenips, and look at everyone. We're all pretty tense, not looking or talking to each other. Some are sipping their drinks, other nibbling on food. I bite my lip, staring into the fire. This is going to be a long three days. Hopefully they'll let us hide out in our rooms. I take in my opponents. Isla is my age, shoulder length brown hair and extremely pretty blue eyes. She's nervously staring at her hands which are folded neatly in her lap. She's a very quick thinker, one of the smartest in our year. She'll be a problem, unless… I enlist her as an ally. I could use someone, and we were sort of friends. Except we both know one of us has to die. So allies don't seem like a good option right now. Jill Page, the redhead, is in her second year. I don't know much about her, but she's got a very slim figure, and is the shortest person here. She'll be fast, I can tell. Dylan Kowlswell is a fourth year. He looks like he was just starting to develop muscle, and from what I know, he was sort of a rebel. Michael Sosaskow, the eldest here, a seventh year, has already developed his muscle it seems. He's tall, and I can tell he's surveying us as well. Our eyes meet for a moment, pity flashing in his, before we quickly avert our eyes. I feel nervous, all of them posing their own threat. The last is James Burns, the first year who cried. He's quite small, a bit bigger than Jill, and has pale blonde hair and green eyes. Sort of looks like Draco. My heart aches for him, because I know he won't last long. The other tributes looked pretty decent, and I know the people at the Ministry will be pretty excited with the batch of us this year. Already, the reaping will have been shown and potential sponsors will be eagerly waiting for us to arrive. The train ride is about three days, so they'll have to wait.  
I get up and walk over to a table, which is filled with food. There are glass cups, with beautiful patterns on them, silver plates with blue gems embedded in them. The food itself is very fine, cooked, baked, and boiled to perfection. I sit down and fill my plate, deciding I may as well put some weight on before I go into the games. The others see what I'm doing and follow suit, Isla sitting beside me. I can't help but think she purposely has been staying near me.  
We eat in silence; the only noise is our cutlery.  
Michael chews slowly, and then says something.  
"Food's really good…" His attempt to start a conversation falls flat. He sighs, taking a sip of his drink.  
"Look guys, maybe… We could strategize together. Give us an edge over the other houses. I know that allies aren't the most common for Ravenclaws, but…" He shrugged, looking around. Jill and James quietly got up and headed back to the fire place. After what seemed to be a bit of deliberation, Dylan left as well, leaving Isla, Michael and I.  
He smiled slightly at us. "Well, Pip, I have seen you looking at all of us. So you're already strategizing. Care to share anything?"  
Truth be told, I haven't thought of what I'll do in the arena. For now, I've decided to eat as much as I can because starvation is a common death cause in the arena. I debate telling them this. But, I've never really been one for lying, so why start now?  
"Well… I haven't thought of the arena" I say honestly. "For now, I was thinking gaining weight would help us alive an extra few days if it comes down to starvation. Not too much that I'll be slow, but enough that I've got a few pounds on me." I say this quietly, not really wanting the others to overhear us. Isla nods thoughtfully.  
"I've been thinking, for training. We've got a week, so for half of it, I'll work on weapons. The other half will be survival." Michael smirks.  
"Great. So… Does this make us, potential allies?" I can't help but notice the hope in his voice. I bite my lip, thinking it over. Allies have their ups and downs. For one, allies mean more food will need to be found. However, the phrase strength in numbers also is a major factor.  
"Do you mind if I think about it?" I ask. "I want to be completely sure about my decision; it is a life or death situation."  
Michael sits back in his seat a bit. "Sure. Take as long as you need. Just don't leave it till we're in the arena…"  
Isla nods. "I'll think about it too. But I'm thinking yes, allies with you guys sounds like a plan."  
I can feel something budding inside of me. Hope? Hope for what? Only one of us will be able to win. But I can't help but wish that if I couldn't win, one of them should. Not that the other tributes are any lesser than them, but… These seem to be the closest people I have to friends. Which is weird, since I'll never see them again after this. But I guess that it's now or never.  
We continue to eat in silence. After I finish, I neatly arrange my cutlery, like I was taught to do in the orphanage. To my surprise, a red-headed girl comes over and takes my plate silently. I stare after her, wondering who she is and where she came from. I look at Isla and Michael, who are also curiously staring after her.  
"I think that's an Avox." Isla says. "I've read about them. They're people who are muggle-borns. Instead of killing all of them, The Dark Lord kept a few. He cut their tongues out and made them serve him."  
I gulp, a horrible feeling creeping up inside of me.  
"They're basically human house elves." She finishes. Michael pushes his food away, too disgusted to finish his meal.  
I look out the train window; it's beginning to get dark outside. Just as I'm wondering when they'll show us to our rooms, the death eater from before comes in, an Avox trailing behind him. He looks at all of us, a smirk on his face.  
"He's 'gunna show 'ya your rooms. Just follow 'em" We get up and follow the Avox, the death eater watching us go. The Avox opens a door to a new hallway, three doors on each side. He motions Jill and James into the first set, Isla and Dylan into the second, and then Michael and I into the last two. Michael waves to me as he goes into his room. I enter mine, feeling worn out even though I've done basically nothing all day. The room is a copy of the one I had in the castle, the only difference is a window by my bed. I open one of the drawers, looking for pajamas. After a couple of tries, I find the pajama drawer. I slip into silky pajama bottoms and a long silk tank top. There's another door, and when I go into it it's just a bathroom. I brush my hair, fixing my pony tail and putting my bangs up out of my face. I look at myself in the mirror, and it somehow makes me even more tired. I wash my face, trying to erase the nervous feeling. I sigh, knowing it won't work and head to bed. I know I won't be able to sleep, so I begin to think about the possible alliance.  
Could I do it? At the beginning, alliances are great. It makes it harder for someone to be killed. But then when the games deepen, alliances are more likely to turn. I can't imagine Isla killing me; she's really one of the sweetest people in my house. It's Michael I'm more worried about.  
But what if I'm really careful around him? Or, if I team up with them for a bit, gather as much food, and possible, weapons, as I can, then I could leave and be pretty well off. I close my eyes, feeling confused. Allies. The one thing I knew I couldn't have. The games would defiantly be easier with a couple of friends. They could help get food, water, defend from enemies, and our combined knowledge would be very helpful. I take a deep breath, closing my eyes.  
I'll be allies with Isla and Michael.  
The thought does terrify me, knowing either of them could be my potential killers, or victims. But the pros do outweigh most of the cons, so I decide that for the beginning of the games, I'll work with them. I roll onto my side, burying my face in the soft pillow. These days to come will be long and hard, but I'm sure I'll be able to overcome most obstacles in my way. The only problem is the actual games themselves. I try to think of a strategy. I doubt there will be any wands, they had those at the first games and the tributes just used the killing curse on each other. They'll probably only be muggle weapons, ones no tribute will have ever heard of. I'm pretty good with Herbology, so I don't think plants will be a problem, but I'll spend some time in that section anyways. I can use my hands to cast a few simple spells, so starting fires also won't be a problem.  
Fighting, finding shelter and food will be the biggest issues for me. If I can get my hands on a weapon, that would be great, assuming I knew how to actually use it. For the most course of training, I'll probably spend my time in the weapons area. Maybe Michael or Isla will be able to get us shelter, and then between the three of us we _should_ be able to gather some food. Maybe we can divide our roles up, Isla works on making shelter and finding foods, she doesn't seem like much of a fighter. Michael and I will probably be the ones to focus on the fighting. I'm much smaller than him, so he'll have to take on the bigger weapons. I sigh, rolling over again. I should probably get some sleep. I know it won't come easy, with my thoughts swirling. I do eventually fall into a dreamless sleep.


	3. On the train

I open my eyes, yawning loudly. I sit up, feeling even more tired than before. Sighing, I roll out of bed, getting ready for today. It'll just be another long day on the train; we'll arrive at the Ministry tomorrow evening. I hop into the shower, allowing the warm water to wash over me, trying to calm my nerves. I step out and wrap myself in a warm, fluffy towel. It amazes me how luxurious everything is here, considering the fact that The Dark Lord doesn't have a care for us. But everything here is so much nicer than the castle. Maybe, in his twisted brain, he feels a slight compassion for us. Or maybe it's to make us more comfortable so when we get to the arena we're in for a major shock.

I get changed into a simple outfit, a blue tunic and black leggings. All my clothes seem to consist of blue, probably for my house color. _Except silver is the other house color…_ I muse. I quickly brush my hair, pulling it into a high pony again. I frown when bits of it come out at the front, framing my face. I stare at my reflection. Large blue eyes that look too tired to be open and a slightly pudgy face stares back at me. I bite my lip, cocking my head slightly. Will I ever see my face again after the games? And if I do, will it really be the same?

I leave my room quickly, feeling nauseous. As I enter our main train cart, I realize I'm the first to arrive. Feeling slightly awkward because of the Avox's, I sit uncomfortably in one of the dining chairs and begin eating. French toast, pancakes, eggs, toast, bacon, sausages, home fries, you name it. I take a bit of everything; I'm not used to such delicacies. The plates are very fine china, and the cups are glass, with elegant designs on them. I'm nibbling on a hash brown when Michael walks in, still looking a bit sleepy.  
"Morning" I mumble, looking down at my plate. He smiles slightly at me, sitting beside me.  
"How long have you been up for?" He asks, filling his plate up as well. I shrug, swallowing the last bit of my food. "Not very long. No one else is up."  
He sighs contentedly, looking at his huge pile of food. "This stuff looks so good…"  
I bite my lip. "I thought about your offer. To be allies" He perks up immediately at this. "I've decided I will be, but only for a bit. If I feel the need to leave you guys I will" He smiles at me, his mouth still full of food. I give him a disapproving look and he immediately swallows his food, clearing his throat slightly.  
"I expected that. But sounds great! I've been thinking, between the three of us" He pauses, looking thoughtful. "That is, if Isla _does_ agree. But I think she will…" He shakes his head. "Anyways, I was thinking, if the three divide up what we learn in training, when we get to the arena, we'll meet together, find a good place to camp, and could teach each other a couple things!"  
I stare at him in surprise. He's really thought things through. He munches on another piece of bacon, looking at me. "Well? How's it sound?"  
I nod, biting my lip in thought. "Just between you and me, I don't think Isla's much of a fighter. If we could have her work more on survival skills, we could teach her a couple of things in the arena."  
He nods, smiling at me again. "Sounds like a plan." His face falters for a moment, showing a look of fear, but he quickly turns back to his food.

We sit there in silence. After a while, he finishes, sighing loudly. "At least they're feeding us"  
I shrug. "It's the least we can do. Seeing as they're putting us to our death."  
He frowns, his oddly good mood vanishing. "Well, when you put it that way…"

The rest of the Ravenclaws come in, each taking their own seat and eating. After Isla seems done eating, Michael gives her and me a look, and motions to a sitting area a little ways away from the rest of the group. We get up quickly and sit down in the comfy chairs. Isla licks her lips nervously, looking at the floor.  
Michael starts and tells Isla I've decided to join the alliance.  
"It's okay if you don't want to join us" He adds. "It's you're decision"  
Her eyes dart from me to him, then back again. "I-I'll team up with you guys. I-I'm not much of a fighter… Teaming up seems to be my best option" She shrugs, looking at her hands again.

Michael grins at her. "Great. What would you say is your strongest ability? Something you think would really help us in the games"  
The poor girl looks even more scared, but she hesitantly says "P-potions. I've always h-had a knack for it." Her eyes widen even more. "I sw-swear it could be useful in the arena. We could use it to heal or kill or whatever I just-"  
Michael cut her off. "Hey, that's great. One less thing for us to focus on in training. You wouldn't mind teaching us a bit?"  
She shakes her head. "N-not too much though, because of…" She doesn't need to finish. Because we could potentially use it against her.  
Michael nods. "No problem. Can totally see why you wouldn't want too. It's understandable" He smiles at her sympathetically.

Michael is really starting to surprise me. I hadn't realized he was this charismatic. It could be dangerous, his friendly nature making me want to trust him whole heartedly. I bite my lip. This could potentially get him lots of sponsors, people love someone like Michael. Strong, seems to be care-free, leader type. I decide to be extra careful around him in the arena, but maybe pretending to have complete faith in him during training could help me. We probably will meet up a lot, since we're both focusing on fighting.

I sigh, leaning back in the chair. How the hell am I supposed to win when there are threats like Michael? And I can't count out Isla; she could wipe out an entire group of tributes by polluting water sources with her potions.  
"Something wrong, Pip?" Michael asks, bringing me out of my trance. I shake my head quickly, sitting up straight again.  
"Just thinking" I reply quietly. I look at my hands, feeling awkward under Michaels gaze. Too my surprise, Isla says something before Michael can interrogate me more. "Maybe we should all just rest today. We can strategize more in the training center, when we're with the other tributes."  
I silently thank Isla, sending her a small smile.  
Michael nods thoughtfully. "We will need as much sleep as we can get. It'll get pretty chaotic in the arena. We'll stand a better chance if we're all well rested"  
I nod, standing up. "I'll go to my room then. Get some sleep before we're at the Ministry." Only two more sleeps, I silently add. I wave them farewell and hurry into my room, but don't immediately go to bed. There's a tray of biscuits, and I nibble on one, sitting on the soft couch.

How am I supposed to sleep anyways? Last night sleep came easier than I expected, but I was exhausted from all that had been going on. I head into the bathroom, staring at the huge tub. It's quite deep, and very wide. There's a separate pipe for soap to come out, and upon further investigation I realize there's about a hundred different soaps I could use. I settle for one that smells like vanilla, and start filling up the tub.

I sigh contently as I slip into the tub, the warm, almost burning water soothing my nerves. It's bubbly, and smells so nice. I sink deeper into the water, feeling more relaxed than I have since this mess started. I let my mind wander to the arena. I guess I should think about it, what I'll try to do. Of course I've seen some of the weapons they give the tributes, we have to watch the games every year. I've never actually used any however. There's usually small knives that tributes can throw at each other. They supply us with about two swords, a couple of spears, and last year there was a bow and arrow. We're never allowed to use wands, it would be much less of a fight if tributes just "Avada Kadavra'd" each other. There's also often hand-to-hand combat, so maybe I should learn some of that. I'll probably go for the knives and fist fighting. It's just more of my suit; I'm not that big, so carrying big weapons would tire me out quickly. It would be great if Michael could get his hands on a sword, but that involves going into the heart of the bloodbath. I guess we'll just have to see.

I plan out in my head what I'll do. The arena is usually deep in the forbidden forest somewhere. I'm not sure how they'll do the outlay of it, but normally there's a giant clearing with a large, silver cornucopia. The supplies are littered around it, and the closer you get the better items you can get. The knives will probably be closer to the cornucopia then I'd like, but I'm fast. Most of the tributes go for the bigger weapons, so hopefully the knives will be over looked. If I can get that, maybe I could grab another bag with other materials and run off unscathed. Hopefully meeting up with Isla and Michael will be easy. We'll have to figure out how to find each other once we're into the arena.

And then what? Will I stay behind and fight it out, or will we immediately seek shelter? I bite my lip, wondering if I could actually kill someone. If it came down to it, I decide, yes I could. Probably not an unsuspecting person, but someone trying to kill me. Then again, everyone in the arena is trying to kill me. I finish my bath quickly after that, feeling a pounding headache coming on. I want nothing more than too sleep for the rest of this stupid train ride. Changing into fluffy pajamas, I curl up under the warm covers and bury my head under the pillows. Truthfully, I want nothing more than to just be in the arena, to get all of this over and done with. I'll probably feel better once we actually get to the Ministry, because I won't have as much time too myself. I close my eyes, trying to find the sleep I know will never come.


	4. Welcome to the Ministry

Morning comes earlier than I would've liked. It's still dark out when I wake up, but I doubt I'll be able to fall asleep again, so I just get up. I leave my hair down, instead pushing my bangs off my face with a silver hair band. I put on a gray wool sweater and black leggings, and head out to the sitting room. There's no food on the table, so I guess it's too early for breakfast. I sit by the fire, staring into the flames.  
_That must be made with magic,_ I muse. _Wonder who lit it?_ I look around, wanting to ask, but the only other person in the room is an Avox, and I doubt they'll be able to answer. I look at her, feeling bad for her. She has red hair, the color of blood, that's quite long, nearing her waist, even though it's in a French braid. The Dark Lord forces all Avox's to dye their hair this color for some reason. Her face is round, and she has a button nose. Full eye lashes surround her beautiful hazel eyes, and her full lips are a soft pink. Her cheeks flush slightly when she notices me looking at her.  
"Oh um, can I get a cup of hot chocolate?" I ask quickly, feeling awkward. She nods slightly, rushing out of the room. I sigh and slip back into my chair, feeling defeated.  
She comes back, giving me my drink. I smile gratefully at her, and she turns to return to her post.  
"Wait!" I blurt out. She turns around, giving me a curious gaze. I gesture to the chair beside me. "C-could you sit?" I bite my lip, looking at her. She gives me a small smile and nods, sitting down beside me. I take a small sip, feeling slightly awkward for calling her over for literally no reason.

I can see her out of the corner of my eye, playing the end of her braid nervously. Her slender fingers nervously tug it, and I have a feeling she's not supposed to sit with me. But there's no one else here, so I gulp slightly and speak up.  
"I'm Pip. It's, er, nice to meet you." Under these circumstances, it's really not _that_ nice, but I don't want to be rude.  
She smiles again, nodding. I feel bad because she can't speak to me. She pauses for a moment, then holds up one finger and quietly moves away. I stare after her, feeling confused as she leaves the cart. She comes back a moment later with something in her hand. She sits down and shows it to me, a notepad with a pen and paper. I grin at her, laughing.  
"That's great! I didn't know they had paper on the train."  
She quickly writes, and shows me what she said after.  
_"It's actually for the tributes, in case they feel the need to write anything down. Just don't tell anyone I'm using them!"_  
I nod eagerly. "Of course I won't tell anyone. Wouldn't do me much good." I shrug. "What's your name?"  
She smiles again, and I can't help but think she has a beautiful smile.  
"_My names Molly. I know, it's a bit old-fashioned, but I think it's cute!" _She blushes slightly.  
"No, no, I think it's cute too." I sigh, feeling somewhat at ease in her presence. I want to ask her about what happened to her family, because as an Avox you get taken from them, and apparently no one knows what happens.  
She scribbles quickly again, showing it to me.  
"_I know this may not be a good time for me to ask you, but it is good to get these kinds of things out of the way. Have you got a plan for the games yet? I see you have made an alliance, which is good. If you don't wanna talk about it that's okay too" _She looks questioningly at me.

I shrug, deciding to talk to her. It may be beneficial to talk to someone who isn't about to be put in the arena anyways, getting a fresh prospective.  
"Well, we've decided in training to divide up what we'll be learning, then in the arena we'll come together and discuss. I'm focusing on weapons" I tell her. "But I'll probably work on a couple other things."  
She nods, thinking for a moment, before writing more down.  
"_It's just my opinion, but maybe on one of the days you should try some more things. In case one of your partners dies, or doesn't tell you all they know." _

I blush, feeling like an idiot for not figuring that out sooner. "Thanks. I probably will, though I'll try to make sure the others won't realize what I'm doing."  
"_Maybe after lunch on the second and third day instead of weapons you go to survival, potions and anything else? Could be helpful to know a bit… I know lots of people talk about not going to rope tying, though I think that could be super helpful. Traps, and it could help you catch food."  
_I smile, feeling at ease with her. "Sounds like a plan. Just don't tell anyone!" I laugh, and she grins widely for a moment.  
"_You're actually the only one who's talked to me" _She blushes and writes more. "_It's actually quite nice to; I guess this is technically talking anyways, to someone. I haven't been able to say anything for a couple years now." _I instantly feel sympathetic for her, and move closer, putting my arm on her shoulder.  
"It's okay Molly," She smiles when I say her name. "Things will get better soon, I promise. One day someone will get sick of this and stand up. We'll all be safe soon." I mentally add Avox's to my list of things I will tell the Order about. If we could stop more Avox's from being made, muggle-borns and half-bloods would be safer.

I can literally feel the weight of my wish crushing down on my shoulders. To stop The Dark Lord, end the Hunger Games, get rid of all the Death Eaters, save muggle-borns and half-bloods, revolutionize the Wizarding world. And why do I want to do this? Only because all those years ago a seed was planted in my head, that's grown nearly into a fully fledged forest. My mind is constantly whirling with things I could change in the world, yet I don't even know if I'll be able to overcome my greatest obstacle, The Hunger Games. I'm not even fully sure why I'm doing this; I'm definitely not doing it for me.

Molly clears her throat, bringing me out of my thoughts. I realize she's holding another page up, and was probably watching me while I was thinking. She rips the paper up and writes another one.  
"_I know you're probably feeling nervous, not knowing if you're going to live or not. I was the same way, when they first took me to become an Avox. You just gotta find some bit of hope to cling onto, and if you can, I found it really helped me through all of this" _She smiled kindly at me, her eyes full of sympathy. I hear a door out in the hall click, meaning someone else is up. She pats my arm, and kisses my forehead, before returning to her station. Isla stumbles into our cart, still looking exhausted. I bet she didn't get much sleep. I join her at the breakfast table, and find while I was talking to Molly it had been filled up again.

We eat our food in silence at first, but then she looks over at me, sipping her orange juice. "So, today's the day we finally get to the Ministry." She says quietly. "It's weird, I'm not really nervous at all." I nod, understanding what she's saying.  
"Yeah, I don't really know why.' I reply. "I just kinda feel like, whatever happens, happens. I'm more worried about training, to be honest."  
She finishes her plate of food, placing her knife and fork neatly on the plate. "Everything's just a blur." She says quietly. I notice she doesn't stutter as much as when she's talking to Michael. "Really, nothing's really happened, but everything just seems to be going so fast. One minute we're at Hogwarts, normal students, the next we're being reaped, then we're on the train, and now we're almost at the Ministry." She sighs. "Too soon we'll be in the arena."

Before I can answer her, we hear another click, and Jill Page, the girl in her second year, comes in quietly, her red curls bouncing like crazy. She sits down opposite from us, not saying a word, and begins to eat. She still has a stunned expression on her face, and I know she still has some crazy hope that she won't be fighting us soon. We sit quietly until the rest of the tributes file in, and I get up and move to a lone chair. I don't really want to discuss anything with Michael and Isla right now; I just want to be alone till we reach the Ministry.

I doze off in the chair, the warmth and cackling of the fire lulling me into a soft slumber. All too soon, the same Death Eater from the first day is here, telling us we're at the Ministry and to follow him.

Apparently, before The Dark Lord took over, the Ministry used to be a place of law, and had many jobs for wizards, from Aurors to broom regulation and much more. Now, it's just a place where pure bloods live, and where they bring the tributes for the tribute parade, before sending them off to a secret training facility, and then the arena.

I peer out the window to get a look at it, and find I'm amazed by its beauty. I'm surprised; I would've thought it was all black. The walls and floor are a shiny black, so clean and clear it seems to reflect its surroundings. Tall, silver tree's with sparkling bright pink leaves grow around the town square, and a large gold tree with bright green leaves stands tall in the middle. There's balloons of every color everywhere, probably put out in celebration of this year's Hunger Games. I stare in awe at everything. The sky is a brilliant blue, not a cloud in the sky, and I can't help but think it's probably fake. The buildings are a shiny pearl color, which stands out nicely against the black. There wizards are dressed in long robes, and the fabric looks so rich and soft to touch. The colors they're wearing are very deep, and I feel a pang of jealousy, no one here would ever be able to afford such delicacies.

We're soon ushered off the train and down a path, with fences to keep the residents of the Ministry away from us. They're all screaming, nudging each other and pointing to tributes. All twenty four of us our together, and extra death eaters have been called in to escort us. A couple of brave people wave to the crowd, Michael included, but I keep a straight face and look ahead. We're soon moved into what is known as the "remake center". Here, we'll get our hair and make-up done, and costumes put on for the tribute parade that will take place tonight.

I find myself lying down on a cold metal table, completely stark naked. I blush immediately, looking around for something to cover myself with, but three people walk in and one tells me to sit still. They don't introduce themselves; just tell me they're here to prepare me for my stylist.

They immediately start by scrubbing my body down, cleaning every inch of it. I close my eyes, still embarrassed about being so nude in front of them, but they don't seem to mind. They wax my body, leaving it raw and sore, and wash me again. The water cools my skin surprisingly, and they apply a layer of cream to stop the pain from the wax. They begin to tweeze my eyebrows, making them perfectly manicured. One of them starts drying my hair, while the other two set to doing my finger nails. I can't tell what they're doing, I'm still too nervous to look at any of them. One of the people doing my nails finished quickly and moves to start on my makeup. My hair is done drying it seems, because I can feel a slight tug as they style it. I can feel them sprinkling something onto my shoulders, but I don't dare look, because one of them has started my eye makeup. I can feel them adding more and more make up onto my face, as though I'm their canvas and they're painting a picture.

They finish after a good hour, and I can hear them circling me, making sure everything is perfect. Once they've decided it is, they tell me that my stylist will be in her soon and to not move. I don't reply, too scared in case I ruin my makeup.

I hear the door click, and open my eyes to see my stylist walk in. I mentally cringe, because he's wearing an all black robe, with shortened sleeves, and has a slight crazy look in his eye. I feel like I'm going to have to wear some ridicules costume.  
"I'm Maud. Please, stand up." His voice is quiet and deep, and I do as he says quickly. He circles me like the preparation people did, nodding in approval. "They actually did a good job this time." I don't say anything, just stare awkwardly at him.  
"Okay, let's get you into your costume now. Close your eyes!" His attempt to make me excited falls flat, but I do as he says, stretching my arms out so it's easier for him. The fabric slide easily over my skin and the back feel surprisingly heavy. The material is quite smooth, and I think it's silk. He adjusts my hair slightly, and moves me so I'm standing elsewhere, probably in front of a mirror. "Open your eyes."

I open them, not sure what to expect. Normally, people just dress the tributes up in honor of the Dark Lord, or one of his creations. But it seems not me. I gasp. I can't help but think I look absolutely beautiful. They have given me hair extensions, making my hair go down to my waist. It's wavy and at the bottom, it's a stunning silver. On my shoulders is blue glitter and it shimmers every time I move. My eyes are a smoky dark blue, with silver eyeliner, and somehow they've made my lashes look full and long. My lips are also a dark blue, matching the eye shadow.

But it's the costume that makes me gasp. It's a blue dress, that's tight around my chest and stomach, and then from my waist down it's all feathers, all different shades of blue, with silver at the tips. On my legs are black tights, and I have black high heel boots, making me look much taller than I actually am. Behind me, the thing that made me feel so heavy, are large fake wings, but they almost look so real. The feathers are black, but they look so soft and silky. They're very big, easily as big as me. Attached are blue and silver streamers that are shiny and stand out. I twirl, and the streamers flicker brightly, my shoulders sparkling, my dress swaying slightly.  
"Oh Maud! It's so nice!" I squeak, still twirling. "It looks so great!"  
He laughs, and I sit down, feeling slightly dizzy. "Well, I got bored of seeing the same costumes each year. So I decided to try something new, make you look like your house animal. And I think it's worked."

I grin at him. "I'm going to be the best dressed." He holds his arm out and I take it, standing. With my heels, I'm taller than him.  
"I'll take you to the parade now. You'll be the first Ravenclaw girl to go, since you're the oldest." I nod. Since Ravenclaw's house is last, I'll have to wait for the other houses to go first.  
"Just smile and wave. Make them love you."  
I sigh, my good mood vanishing. "Love me so that when I get thrown into the arena they won't want me to die?"

He grabs my chin, making me look down at him. "Listen, I know this isn't a very ideal situation. But having a bad attitude isn't going to help you." He has a hard look in his eyes. "Just do what I say, and you'll have a better chance at winning, okay?"

I nod, sighing again. "Okay. I'm sorry, I just… Well I'm about to fight my friends to the death, so I'm a bit upset about that."  
"I can understand why" He answers calmly. "But trust me when I say this, trying to oppose to this isn't going to help you."  
"Okay. I'll just do what you say, and hope for the best, I guess." I smiled slightly, feeling a bit upset. I have literally no power here, to survive I must do as everyone else says. I scold myself, reminding myself that in order to survive, I need to be as cooperative as possible.

I'm soon standing in a carriage that's pulled by some invisible force. I'm fourth last, and I shift nervously as Maud leaves. He gives me one last thumbs up, and vanishes. I look around, and think to myself, I've probably got the most creative costume. I hope that potential sponsors will like the change.

Slytherin is called first, and the cheers for them are very loud. They're always the more popular choice for the sponsors, because of their contribution to Death Eaters. Next up is Gryffindor, then Hufflepuff. I stand tall, raising my chin as my carriage begins to move. I gasp when I see how many people there are. It's a large room, with a fountain in the middle, and all along the walls are seating places where the Ministry residences are cheering at me. I can feel the streamers well, streaming out behind me as I move. I remember what Maud said, and raise my hand, waving at everyone. I force myself to smile, and try my hardest for it to not look fake; even though I'm outright disgusted with these people.  
I blow one part of the crowd a kiss, laughing slightly. I think I look like some weird doll, but apparently they all love it. One throws a rose at me, and I catch it in my mouth, wiggling my eyebrows at him suggestively. He pretends to faint and fall over. I look around again, making sure the smile never leaves my face. People are cheering, lots pointing to my crazy costume. I can feel it, the small warm feeling settling on my heart. Hope. I try to shake of the feeling, but I can't. All these people cheering for me, one of them will have to sponsor me, right? I blow a couple more kisses, and my carriage pulls to a stop. The rest of the tributes fan out around the giant fountain.

I take more notice too it, because we're now all surrounding it. It's very large, the base a giant pool. The main structure of it is actually a stone carving of The Dark Lord himself, stepping on a platform that seems to be squishing thousands of people. It's probably about ten times larger than The Dark Lords actual size. From the center of his stone robe, a door opens, and a women steps out of it. She has long brown hair that goes down to her waist. Her face is cold and emotionless, and her eyes are a gray, that almost match the statue behind her. Her dark red lips are pursed, she doesn't look very happy. I recognize her as Lauren Gorez, the Head Game Maker.

"Welcome, everyone. Welcome to the Thirteenth annual Hunger Games" Her voice matches everything about her, cold and empty of any emotion. "Now that you've seen this year's batch of contestants, voting will start immediately." She looks around, smirking slightly at us tributes. "Training will start tomorrow. They will have a week, and then final interviews, and finally, the games will begin." She nods, her smirk vanishing. "So good luck, and may the odd be ever in your favor!" She hurries back into the door, looking annoyed.

I almost want to follow her and hit her. How dare she be annoyed? Does she think that we tributes aren't good enough this year? The smile on my face is gone, replaced by a scowl. What a stupid c…

My thoughts are interrupted by the carriage moving again. We enter a giant black tunnel, and when we come out I know this is the training center instantly. There are four elevators, each that will take us to our separate dorms, and the massive gym somewhere below us. I step off the carriage quickly, not wanting to fall. Maud comes over, smiling. "That was great. The crowd loved you!" He gushed. I nod, still feeling moody from Lauren.  
"Can I just go to bed? I'm tired from the train ride" I lie, not feeling up to conversing with everyone. He nods and walks me to one elevator, pressing the button labeled "4". He gives me a small smile as the doors close. I sigh wearily as they reopen, and a room nearly identical to the cart on the train appears in my vision. I walk in, and to my surprise, Molly is waiting there to greet me. She smiles at the look of shock on my face. She grabs my hand and leads me to a door, opening it for me to reveal my new room. It's different than the one on the train, there's no sitting area, and the blankets are a silver silk, with a dark blue trim. The ceiling is glass, so I can see the whole night sky. The door closes behind me, and I'm left alone. I change out of my costume and into warm pajamas, taking the extensions and streamers out of my hair, kicking my shoes off and crawling into bed, not bothering to remove my makeup. I'm so tired, I fall asleep almost instantly.


	5. First day of Training

I'm woken up by an obnoxious knocking on my door, someone yelling "It's time to get up! You have an hour before training starts!" I drag myself out of my warm bed and into the shower, washing all evidence of my beauty from last night off. I sit in the shower for longer than I should have; not wanting to leave the warmth and relaxation it offers me. Sighing, I change the knobs on the shower so it instead dries me, leaving my hair and body removed all moisture. I step out and see someone has laid out my training outfit. Tight black yoga pants, a black long sleeved shirt with blue stripes on the arms, and sleek black running shoes. I put the outfit on and throw my hair into a ponytail, making sure no hair escapes the elastic band. I come out of my room and see everyone's already up, all in identical outfits. I ate breakfast quickly, wanting to get it over and done with so I could speak to Michael and Isla before we went into training. I met both of their eyes with mine and jerked my head to the corner of the room, away from everyone else. We moved over, and Michael got the ball rolling.

"So we all know what we're doing right? Isla, you work on survival skills." She nods, looking at the floor nervously. "Good. Pip, you and I are working on weapons." He lowered his voice, looking around the room. "Observe everyone as much as you can. Try to get a feel for their fighting style, so if you do end up fighting them, you're one step ahead. If you find something you're good at, make sure no one knows you are." He returned his gaze to Isla and I. "At lunch, we'll all eat together. Sounds good?"  
Isla looked at me as I nodded, and hesitantly nodded as well. I couldn't help but think she was waiting for my decision before she said anything.

The Death Eater from the train ride came in. I guess he was our main escort. He was very tall, and really skinny, and with his long black coat he looked a bit like a spider. I'll probably call him that, Spider. He tells us in an annoyed voice to follow him. We go down in groups, Dylan, Jill and James going down with Spider, Michael Isla and I going down with another escort.

We arrive at the training center, and I gasp in surprise. It's a huge gymnasium, with many centers. To the right of me are hundreds of different weapons, each with labels next to us telling them what their names are. There's a whole section for survival skills, and other smaller sections for other things. Spider glares at us, saying "You're here, so do whatever you like. Just don't fight other tributes. Lunch is at one thirty. I'll be back to take you to your rooms at five." I look at the giant clock on the right of me, and see it's exactly nine in the morning. He nods to us and leaves. I see the other tributes already here, getting the same instructions from their escort. Not wanting to waste any time, I leave the group and head off to the weapons by myself, searching for something of my likes. There are already a couple tributes here with me, no one speaking to each other. I can almost taste the awkward, and want to laugh at it for some reason. I look around and see Isla learning at a trap making station, and Michael is near me, looking at the huge selection of weapons.

I find what I'm looking, a shelf displaying many sharp throwing knives. Some are small, and others are bigger than my head. I grab a medium sized one, testing its weight. A trainer comes over, smiling slightly at me. There are a couple of dummies to practice on, and the trainer tells me to go ahead and throw one. I position myself and aim, throwing it quickly. It barely missed the dummies arm. I sigh angrily, and the trainer sets to helping me practice. I find it's surprisingly easy, and get the hang of it quickly. He gives me a thumbs up as I throw a bigger one, decapitating one of the targets. I throw another, missing its head by an inch. I put my hands on my hips, taking a deep breath. These aren't so bad. I decide to spend the rest of the morning throwing them, making sure no one is paying attention to me. I look around the room, and to my delight the only person watching me is Michael. He waves at me, and I wave back, feeling upbeat at my new skill. He's practicing with a bow and arrow, and he's actually hitting the targets, but only on their arms or shoulders. I turn back and whip another knife at a fake moving target, getting a clean cut in its plastic forehead. I smirk, throwing another knife. If I could get these in the arena, I'm betting I could take out a couple tributes easily.

My smirk vanishes and I cover my hand over my mouth. I shouldn't be thinking like this! Killing my classmates shouldn't ever be crossing my mind. I quickly leave the station without another word. I don't have the heart to grab another weapon, so I find Isla and work with her. She's at an edible plant station, looking through a giant book filled with pictures of plants. I sit beside her, shaking slightly at my earlier thoughts. She doesn't say anything, just pushes over another book for me to read. I take it gratefully and flip through the pages, not really seeing the words in front of me. There's a loud gong, and a cool female voice tells us its lunch time. In the middle of the room, six large tables appear, each having lots of full plates. I sit at the end of one and start eating; it's a delicious pasta with rich creamy sauce and tender chicken. Isla and Michael soon join me. Isla stays quiet, while Michael asks me how my days gone so far.

"Good." I reply, taking another bite of my pasta. "I think I'm pretty good with the knives. I've got an okay aim" I tell them. Michael nods, chewing. "I'm gonna work with the knives for a bit more I think. What about you?" Michael swallows, looking at Isla. Isla shakes her head, still staring at her untouched meal, so he speaks. "The swords. I'm good with that. Pretty easy to use. I'm gonna have a go with two swords, see how I fair with that." I nod, biting my lip. Is Michael _just_ going to focus on weapons? As charming as he is, I doubt sponsors will be able to get him much food as the games progress. Is he really going to rely that much on Isla and me to get him food? I really hope not. I look over at Isla, but she seems bent on staying quiet. I guess she still doesn't fully trust us yet. I frown, wishing she would. We're her allies for Christ sake. If she doesn't trust us, what would she do in the arena?

I finish my lunch early and bid them good bye, moving over back over to the knives. My aim is still slightly off, and I want to try and perfect it before I go into the games. The instructor gives me some harder targets, some up in fake trees, others moving faster, and some very far away. I've always enjoyed a challenge, and this proves very difficult. I look around, and see Kelly and Kyle Jenka, both using what I think are called scythes. They're very sharp weapons, and look deadly. The two of them are practicing together, and between the two they've literally demolished a whole set of targets, leaving them all in little bits of plastic. I take a step back, my eyes widening. They're deadly together. I know they'll be deadly in the arena. I return to knife throwing, trying to get my mind off my lethal enemies. By five, I'm sweating at the effort of throwing so many knives, which surprises me. Maybe tomorrow I should work on some stamina exercises.

I really want to spend more time down here, but I'm too nervous to ask, in case I get punished. Maybe I'll be able to come early. We get back to our room and I flop down on the couch, waiting for dinner to be served. Molly comes in with a couple other Avox's, each carrying separate dishes. They place them on the table, put the plates, cutlery and cups down, and hurry back to their designated standing spots. I want to say something to Molly, but I feel talking to her would just get her in trouble, so I send her a small smile. She smiles back, giving me a little wave, and then returns to standing straight and looking forward. My heart breaks for her.

I eat dinner quickly, not really paying attention to the meal. I take more then I should, because I still feel putting on a couple of pounds could be helpful. Maybe working out in the training center will change it from pudge to muscle. That would be good. Michaels literally stuffing his face across from me, and I don't think he's breathing as he shoves more food in his face. It's such a funny picture I can't help but laugh, and find I can't stop, nearly falling off my chair from laughing so hard. Everyone stares at me like I've gone nuts, and maybe I have, I don't care. Michael's expression is so funny I can't stop myself. I feel someone gently place their hands on my shoulders, helping me out of my chair and leading me to my bedroom. I see a flash of a red braid out of the corner of my eye and know its Molly saving me from the embarrassment. She sits me down on my bed and goes into the bathroom. I hear her start up the bath, and I try to stop myself from laughing. I'm laughing so hard tears are streaming down my face, but soon my tears turn into muffled sobs. Molly comes back and hugs me, patting my back. I sob into her shoulder. I'm crying for her, for my fellow classmates, for all the past tributes and victors, for all the future tributes and victors, for all the muggle borns, for everyone who has ever had some horrible fate befall them because of the Dark Lord. Molly helps me up and into the bathroom, still half hugging me. She helps me undress and get into the warm tub, where she sits beside me and plays with my hair. I sigh, because it really feels nice and helps calm me. We don't say anything; just sit there until the water gets cold. She leaves for a moment, and comes back with the fluffiest pajamas I've ever seen. I pull myself out of the tub, not really wanting to leave but not really wanting to sit in the cold water. She puts me into the clothes and leads me to my bed, tucking me in like I'm a child again.

I sigh, closing my eyes, feeling extremely comfortable. She goes to a panel at the wall and presses a button, then grabs whatever comes out of it and hands it to me. It's a drink, and I take a sip, and find its warm milk with honey. I smile gratefully at her.  
"Thanks Molly… Really, thank you so much. It means so much to me, to know I have a friend." She blushes and smiles back, waving her hand like it's no problem. I finish my drink and she re-tucks me into my bed, pulling the silky covers up to my chin. She kisses my forehead and turns the light off as she exits my room, leaving me to my nightmares.


	6. And some say this can't be real

I wake up still feeling tired. Sighing, I roll out of bed and throw on my training uniform, and put my hair into a high ponytail. Breakfast goes by quickly and silently, and I'm soon in the gym, heading back over to my throwing knives. I'm surprised to see a certain girl with bushy red hair is nervously picking up a knife. I should've just quickly left, but I could see others watching me, waiting for my reaction. I didn't want to look weak in front of anyone, it wasn't me, and so I squared my shoulders and walked over to her. It was Kate Foresst, one of the Hufflepuff tributes. I got closer to her and saw she had a terrified expression on her face, but I didn't stop.  
"What do you think you're doing?" I hiss quietly at her, crossing my arms. She shrinks away as I leer at her.  
"P-P-Prac-c-c-ticing w-with the kn-knives." She stutters. I glare at her, leaning forward, trying to make myself look bigger.  
"I was using those. Get lost before _you're_ my next target_._" She nods and hurries off, dropping the knife with a _clang!_ I feel horrible for being so mean, but this is a life or death situation, and I still need to practice with the knives. I look around and see everyone watching out little argument. I huff and turn back, my face bright red.

I mentally make note to apologize to her at lunch. I know it's stupid, but we only have a few days left to live, and I want to make amends with her. I can feel everyone's eyes still on me, so I turn around and put on a brave face.  
"What are you looking at?" Mostly everyone quickly looks away and goes back to their practice, except for Kelly and Kyle, who smirk and whisper a couple things at each other, never taking their eyes off me. I glare at them, feeling my face going red again, and they laugh and walk away. I'm actually surprised by my guts, normally I'm very quiet. Already they games are changing me.  
Grateful to not be the center of attention anymore, I pick up the knives and begin whipping them at my targets. Out of the corner of my eye I see Kate at a knot-tying station with Jack Stevensun, watching me. Feeling annoyed, I throw a knife at a target close to her. Both Hufflepuff tributes jump, their eyes widening to large saucers.

I shake my head as the bell for lunch rings, and I head over to the same place I sat yesterday. Michael's there already, and Isla is hurrying over. I sit down, feeling starving, and am pleased to see a soup with fine turkey, potatoes, and other delicacies hidden in the warm broth. I take a sip, looking up in surprise when Michael clears his throat.  
"Mhm?" I mumble, my mouth full of soup.  
He glares at me. "What was that little stunt this morning? We're trying to keep a low profile."  
I keep my face blank. "I needed my knives. I need to practice."  
His eyes seem to pop out of his head. "So you scare the crap out of another tribute? Look, I know it's survival for the fittest here, but you can't just-"  
To my surprise, Isla interrupts him.  
"Michael, I think what she did was good." She looks terrified, but continues speaking.

"I- I mean it got Kate away. That's one less weapon for her to know, one less enemy for us. I know it may have brought unnecessary attention, but that means that less strong opponents won't attack her, and if our plan goes well, according t-to plan, she'll b-be able to get out of th-there quick enough stronger opponents won't h-harm her." Isla shoves a spoon into her mouth to silence herself. I want to dance around her for defending me. Michael settles down a bit, a small smile playing his lips.  
"I guess you're right. Just promise me you won't do anything like that again?" His face look so sincere I can't help but nod.  
"Good. Let's finish up lunch and get back to training."

As I eat, I decide to practice tree climbing. I'm decent enough with the throwing knives, and I don't want to attract anymore of the creepy twins attention. There's a station on in a corner way away from everyone else. It'll probably be useful in the arena, and it'll be a great work out. Not to mention there wasn't anyone around there, so I'd be completely alone.

As I get up, I notice Kate and Jack talking quietly and walk over to them. They fall silent and stare up at me.  
"I'm sorry for earlier." I say. I'm not really sure what to do, so I smile, looking at my feet embarrassedly. "Sorry." I say again and hurry off. That was so awkward it literally pained me. I shake my head and arrive at the tree climbing station. It literally is a bunch of fake trees, each their own level of difficulty, and a fake rock wall. The trainer helps me into safety gear so I won't fall and I walk over to the easiest tree. He instructs me on what to do, helping me place my feet and hands, and I'm off, pulling myself up with my arms and pushing with my feet. The first tree was pretty easy, so I skip the next one and head over to a more difficult one. I'm literally shaking at the effort; I wasn't expecting this to be so hard. Maybe I'll work on this more tomorrow. I wipe my brow, annoyed at the amount of sweat I'm producing. I didn't realize I was _that_ out of shape. I haul myself higher into one of the fake trees, sighing as I take a break. Taking a deep breath, I pull myself as high as I can, and look out over the gym.

Everyone's busy doing things. Most people are ignoring each other, casting quick over the glance shoulder looks at anyone near them. The older tributes don't look as nervous, but I can tell they are, I can see them passing hidden looks around, trying to be casual. But from up here I can see everything. Maybe that's what I should do, I muse. Hide up in a tree the entire games. I laugh softly. That would be a twist. I slowly edge my way down the tree, not wanting to slip like I did on the last one. I make it down okay, and suck in a huge _whoosh_ of air as I plant my feet firmly on the ground. I have about half an hour left, or so the clock says, so I skip back over to throwing knife training, and work there for the rest of the time. The instructor teaches me another, quicker way of throwing the knife for long distance throws, and leaves me too practice.

The next day goes like this, wake up, shower, get dressed, breakfast, practice with the knives, lunch, practice climbing trees, end. Before I know it, there's only three days left of training. Today, instead of tree climbing, I work on traps. Traps can be good; I can catch food or even harm another tribute. I push the second thought away and work on a trap that can be excellent for catching rabbits. My fingers hurt and I can't seem to get the ropes right. Too my surprise, Kate comes over and silently helps me, guiding my fingers. I stare at her in shock, and she quickly shrugs and hurries away. Maybe apologizing too her was a good idea. Getting the hang of it now, I make a couple more traps, with only a few errors this time.

I actually think I have a chance. I don't want to sound cocky, but a bit of self encouragement can't help. I can make traps for food, I can use a couple of weapons, and I can hide in the trees for shelter. I know I'm going to be a challenge in the arena, but hopefully none of the other tributes don't.

This time when I go back to the weaponry, I don't head for the throwing knives, instead for what are called "daggers". They look like the swords Michael was working with, only smaller. It fits quite nicely in my hand, and I toss it from hand to hand, before setting to work. Watching Michael and trying to mimic him, and with the instructors help, I'm soon off, stabbing at plastic targets. I like the dagger actually; it might be nice to get one in the arena. I'll definitely give this more practice tomorrow.

I'm sore again at the end of the day, and by the time I've finished dinner I want nothing more than a hot bath. I fill the large tub up, adding lots of bubbles and sweet smelling things, and quickly slide in. I've accidently set the water too hot, and it burns at my skin, but I ignore it and settle down into a comfortable position. The scalding water helps numb my nerves. I only have two more days of training, my final interview, and then the games will begin. Three days, two sleeps, and finally the games will begin. I sink under the water, submerging my head. I can't help but wonder what would happen if I didn't come back up.

Bright and early the next morning and I'm slicing targets with the dagger again. The trainer actually comes over and offers to be my target, saying practicing on a real human is loads better than some lump of plastic. I agree, feeling awkward because I really don't want to hurt him, but what the hell I guess. Biting my lip, I aim and take a stab at his leg. He moves and aims a punch at my head. Startled, I duck quickly, and his attack flies harmlessly over my head. I shove his stomach away from me with my free hand, trying to create space between us. What is he doing!?

He tells me to drop the knife and I do so, giving him an awkward look.  
He laughs. "Sure, you can try to stab someone, but what good will that be if you can't defend yourself? Martial arts 101 sweetheart."

"What, are you _actually_ trying to help me? Do you actually care about us tributes?" I reply in a mock voice of his.  
"I do" He whispers. I stare at him, furrowing my brow, and his smile returns again.  
"So let's practice some one on one combat."

Well, I guess I may as well, seeing as what he said was true. But he cares about us? That's weird. I always assumed most people who worked with the games were complete assholes. I guess not. Or I just got lucky with the batch of employees.

He begins with teaching me a few simple defense moves, how to block a punch or a kick. I snap a punch at him, and it hits him square in the chest. He grins, rubbing his chest a bit.  
"Good. You're quick."  
I shrug.  
"Back at the orphanage, you had to be quick or you'd get hit." His expression softens a bit, a sad look coming across his face, but I remain blank faced and go to punch him again. He blocks me this time, and teaches me how to reverse someone's block. The lunch bell rings as I'm about to kick him in his soft spot.

"You'll come back after right?" I nod, this is actually really helpful. He smiles, and his smile is actually so infectious I have to smile back.  
I look at him more during lunch. He's got a slight pudge to him, probably because of the fine foods he receives for working here. His eyes are the bluest gems I've ever seen. His teeth are perfectly straight and shiny white. I notice he smiles a lot.

Isla takes a bite of her food and speaks up. "Th-three more days…" I nod, not taking my eyes of the trainer. "Th-the soo-sooner the better." She takes a quick sip of her drink, not looking at either of us, as if she said something wrong.

"I just want to be in the arena." Michael says. "All this waiting around… It's getting me nervous. What about you, Pip?" I snap my head back and look at them.  
"I want all of this to be over." I reply. I eat my food slowly, because I don't want to get a cramp from fighting.  
Isla reaches over and squeezes my hand, before quickly retracting it and putting it in her lap. I smile at her and stand up.  
"I want some pudding. Anyone else?"

"S-sure…" Isla mumbles, tugging at a strand of loose hair. "Why not?" Michael shrugs.  
I walk away, grab three large bowls of mouth watering pudding, and slowly make my way back to them. I give them each their own bowls and we dig in.

"Well, at least the food here is good." Michael attempts to make a joke but it falls flat. He sighs, and soon lunch is over. I literally run back over to the martial arts station, and find the trainer waiting for me, a smile still on his face.

"Hey!" I say, a little out of breath. "Ready for me to kick your ass?" He asks. I narrow my eyes at him. "Yeah right." I feel slightly awkward at not knowing his name, so I decide to ask him. "Er, before we start, mind telling me your name?"  
"Shay's the name, don't wear it out." I cross my arms, blinking lazily. "Doubt I'll be able to, honestly." He scrunches his nose up. "Right. Sorry. Let's start, shall we?" He actually does look genuinely sorry, so I forgive him.  
"It's fine. Just, let's just practice. It helps take my mind of things." He squeezes my shoulder. What's with everyone and being so smushy lately?

We take our positions, and he begins instructing me again, telling me when I'm doing something right and pinching me if I do something wrong. His pinches actually hurt, so I try my best not to mess up. He backs me up; I back him up, aiming as many blows to each other as we can. I know he's trying to hit me softly so it doesn't hurt me, and I silently thank him for being so kind

By the end of it, we're both sweaty and out of breath. I'm incredibly happy by the session, I feel more confident about actually fighting people now. I probably should've worked on this ages ago.

"Tomorrow, come back and I'll get some fake daggers so we can practice with those." He says. "Well, that is if you want to come back."  
I blink and smile at him. "Yeah, sure."  
He literally grins from ear to ear. "Good. With the fake daggers we can't really hurt each other, so we can actually try and cut each other's arms off. Make sure to take a warm bath tonight so your muscles aren't too sore. I think if you wanted you could ask for a massage." He adds.

He looks so cute, his hair slightly curling at the tips, his grin, his large eyes, that I feel the need to trust him whole heartedly. But that really isn't good, is it? I shouldn't trust him, because he's trying to fatten me up for the slaughter. But he just seems so genuine in trying to help me, he can't be all bad, can he?

Like he says, I take another long hot bath, but I'm too embarrassed to ask for a massage. Maybe tomorrow. My muscles aren't _that_ sore, but I still could probably use the help.

The next morning I'm working again with Shay, using rubber daggers, and too my joy rubber throwing knives, almost as if this was actually in the arena. I literally fake kill him many times, but he also gets a lot of damage on me. Damn, he's _tough. _

As I throw a knife at him, I realize. Today's my last training day. Tonight's my interview. Tomorrow is game day. I feel his knife hit my stomach, but I'm too numb from the thoughts. He hurries over, realizing something is wrong. He wraps a protective arm around my shoulders and leads me to the empty cafeteria and gets me a hot drink.

"Pip, Pip, what's wrong?" He sounds so worried. I stare blankly at the table, my eyes wide, my mouth slightly open. This just happened so fast. Oh god. I could be dead in a matter of hours.  
"Pip, look at me!" There's so much desperation in his voice. I look up slightly, staring into his ocean blue eyes.  
"I know you're nervous. Trust me, _I know_." I instantly glare at him.  
"But you don't know! You don't! I'm about to be thrown into an arena, I'm about to be put to my death! Don't tell me you know anything, because you don't, okay?"

He licks his bottom lip and bites it.  
"You're right. I'm sorry. But freaking out isn't going to help. You need to try and remain calm." He puts his hand on my arm, staring into my eyes. "You may not know this…" He whispers, never taking his beautiful eyes off mine. "But there's lots of people rooting for you." He kisses my forehead and hurries off, as the lunch bell rings. I literally fling myself to the table furthest away from everyone, eating my food in silence and glaring at the empty bowl. I don't want to face Shay again, but at the same time I want to see him, so after lunch I go over to the corner he's in.

"Hey…" I mutter, looking at the floor in embarrassment.  
He sighs. "Screw training, let's talk. Just talk, okay? No one will notice."

I feel my heart swell. Just talk. Something I haven't been able to do really in a while, except with Molly, but know that we've been here I haven't seen her pretty face much.

"Sit down." We sit on the mats, and I cross my legs. "Talk." He instructs.

The words literally spill out of my mouth, I don't even think as I say them.  
"Everything just happened so fast. I've been literally ripped from what I used to call normal, from what I used to call my home, to this terrifying environment. I can't look at anyone's face without imagining their dead faces. It's terrible. I have repeated nightmares of me killing the other tributes… My friends! It's so sick! And people find this disgusting thing _entertaining!_ How is that possible? It's a joke to them. Just something that comes around once a year, and then they have to wait in _agony_ for the next load of children ready to be slaughtered. How can people condone this? How does no one think it's wrong? Why isn't anyone trying to stop this!?" Frustrated tears leak out and I wipe them away angrily, embarrassed at looking weak.

Shay scoots over to me and allows me to lean into him.  
"Maybe we just need one person to make them realize. One person to… _start a revolution._" I gasp slightly, but he continues.  
"Someone who knows it's wrong. Someone who can change it. Someone who is strong enough to look into the abyss and come out stronger than ever." He pauses.

"Someone like you."


	7. The Interviews

There's one person left to go, and then it's my turn to be interviewed. It's our last night, so tonight is interview night. My stylist, Maud, has put me in a cream colored dress, that's tight at my chest and stomach, and poof's out at my hips, like a tutu almost, and is sparkly. My hair is curled into loose blond ringlets, glitter has also been sprinkled into my hair, and I have a tiara on my head. I kind of look like a fairy.

My eye's literally pop, black eyeliner surround them, made to look like I have wings, and dark purple eye shadow. My lips are a soft pink, looking slightly pouty. I guess he wanted me to go for a girly effect, but I don't think I'll be able to pull that off.

Shay told me before I left he'd be somewhere in the crowd. I didn't realize the trainers had so much, er, freedom, I guess, but it's nice to know I'll have at least one person rooting for me.

Curtis DeFinkle, the tribute being interviewed, finishes up, and I'm being pushed forward. I stumble a bit in my also creamy colored high heels, take a deep breath, and walk out. The lights stun me for a moment, and I blink rapidly, before I see the host of the show, Chevre. She has got to be the most annoying person I have ever been forced to lay my eyes on. She has this weird, bright rainbow colored hair, starting bright pink at the top, to going to dark blue, electric blue, vomit green, fire truck red, a horrible neon yellow, and ending at bright pink again, and it's all different lengths. Her eyes have been altered to this creepy gold with fake eyelashes that are longer than anything I've ever seen, and I swear she never blinks. I also swear she's had surgery so she has this creepy permanent smile on her face. Her lips are like giant caterpillars on her face. I sit down on the dark blue chairs, which have just switched color for the Ravenclaws. She looks at me, her pupils scarily large, and begins to talk. Her voice gives me a headache from when I had to watch her, now I feel like I may as well just bash my head into the floor.

"Piper! What an adorable name, for an adorable little girl." I'm sixteen you twat. "How's this wonderful experience been treating you? I'm sure all this new, wonderful stuff is such a surprise too you." Wonderful? Is something wrong with her? Well, I guess that one's a little obvious. I want to say something snarky, but I am trying to get sponsors… I try to ignore the crowd, telling myself they're not there so I'm not as nervous about them.

I just shrug, keeping my face smooth. "It's okay. Definitely not what I was expecting." She laughs at this, a weird gurgling sound that sounds like she's trying to cough and stick her finger down her throat at the same time.

"How do you think you'll do in the games? You're _very_ small." I didn't realize it was possible, but her smile grows larger slightly, and she tilts her head. I pursue my lips. I'm not that short!

"Size doesn't matter." She seems taken aback at my cold tone. I guess that's the angle I'm going for, a cold, heartless tribute. Not much off of my actually personality though. And tributes acting like this tend to get a lot of sponsors. Hopefully it'll work for me.

"Well, I guess that's true!" Her voice gets all shrilly and high, and my headache grows. Why can't they get a normal person to do this? Why can't someone like Shay do this? I search the crowd for him, but there are too many people and I can't spot him. "Do you have anyone at home watching you? Someone you had to leave behind? A boyfriend?" She winks. "Don't be shy dear."

I want to just throw up on her. "No, I do not have a boyfriend." I reply coldly. "But I do have someone I'm hoping to see after this…"  
Draco. I'm praying to god that if I win with I'll be able to find him somehow. I'm hoping he's still alive. And if not, The Order is my next choice.

"Really!?" She literally latches on to my reply, grabbing my arm. "Who could this... _special_ person be?" Ugh, could she be any more revolting?  
"An old friend of mine." I don't want to actually say his name, because he did get forcefully taken by a bunch of death eaters. I think she senses my hesitation at saying more about this, because she backs off and changes the subject.

"What will you be bringing into the arena? Something we can look forward too?" I guess I should probably say something, too interest sponsors.

"I'm very smart." I look into the crowd, hoping for someone to find me half interesting. "One of the smartest people in my years." Smartness is always a favorite; sometimes people find tributes tricking other tributes, or just plain cleverness entertaining. I don't want to say too much about my skills, in case I become a main target at the blood bath. The crowd cheers, clapping.

I look out at the crowd again, mostly searching for Shay, but also because I'm stunned at their enthusiasm. How the hell can they be so excited, when there's a chance this is the last time they'll see me live?

I search frantically for Shay, hoping he can help me get through this interview. I feel silly wanting his attention, but I can't help myself. I still can't find him, so I turn back to Chevre.

"I would've never guessed you were smart!" I glare at her. What a complete idiot. "We learn a new thing every day, don't we folks?" The crowd shouts in agreement. When is this stupid interview going to be over?

"You wouldn't guess a lot of things about me." I raise my eyebrows, trying to add a mysterious tone to my voice. It sort of works, I guess, because she pretends to grab her heart.  
"My! You're really something!"

And you're really annoying.

"Piper, I have one last question for you." Thank you god. She shifts closer to me, grasping both of my hands in hers. "When the time comes, are you prepared to kill?"

I don't even hesitate with my answer. "Yes."

She shakes my hand and helps me stand up. "Ladies and gentlemen, our first Ravenclaw tribute, Piper McCartney!" Her face is right next to my ear and now I think I've gone deaf in it. "Thank you for your time Piper, and may the odds be ever in your favor!" She grabs both my hands and kisses me on both my cheeks, before showing me where to step off at. I hurry off, wanting to finish this interview as soon as possible. I hadn't been that nervous, probably because I tried to pretend no one was there. It worked, but only because I focused on Chevre's hair.

I pay little attention to the last interviews. Isla is a complete wreck, stuttering so much it's almost impossible to understand what she's saying, and Michael is radiating confidence, smiling and actually blowing kisses to people in the crowd. He is attractive, so people eat him up. Did I just call him attractive? Oops. I cross my arms, and shift my weight, feeling exhausted. As I wait for Michael's interview to finish, Kelly and Kyle saunter over to me. I stare at them, my eyebrows rising slightly.

"Can I help you?" I ask, trying to sound bored. They smirk. "You're smart. Don't you know what we want then?"

I give them a "are you freaking kidding me look."  
"No. So hurry up and tell me what you want, quit wasting my time."

Their smirks falter a bit, but they come right back up. "We've seen you in training. We think you could be useful to us." Kelly says, and Kyle finishes her sentence. "We want you to make an alliance with us."

I struggle to keep the surprise off my face. An alliance? With them? Ravenclaws and Slytherins have never made an alliance before. I'm already teamed up with Michael and Isla, and I'm pretty sure teaming up with them would result in being killed in my sleep.

I don't want to make myself enemies with them though. I'm guessing saying no will make them go out of their way to kill me.  
"Maybe." I reply. "We'll see how the blood bath plays out." There. Not no, but not yes. I think they like my response, because their smiles grow bigger.  
"You are smart." Kelly pinches my cheeks. What is with people and touching my cheeks? I slap her hand away. "And feisty! I like you. See you later, Pip." She winks at me and her and her brother leave me. I watch them go, and they literally strut away.

There's no way in hell I'm joining them. Great, this means I'll have to avoid them at the bloodbath as much as possible. I feel like they won't try to attack me until they're completely sure about me not aligning with them. I hear the buzzer that signals the end of the interviews. We're shuffled into our elevators that take us back to our rooms. I'm shoved into mine, and hear the door lock behind me.

This is it. My last sleep where I won't worry about being murdered. I sink onto the bed, still in my dress. Now, I wish that everything hadn't moved so fast. Will I ever see Molly again? Draco? Shay? The rest of the kids at the orphanage? I move into the bathroom, looking at myself in the reflection of the mirror. Will I ever see my face again? I want to take another bath, just because it's been my routine for the week.

Stripping out of my ridicules outfit, I jump into the once again burning hot water. I scrub off the stupid makeup. I wish I had someone here to comfort me. I push the thought away quickly. No one can help me. I need to stop relying on people. Fighting back tears, I take deep breaths. I feel so weak. All I've been doing lately is crying, or trying not to cry. I actually slap myself, trying to stop the flow of tears. Nodding slightly, I rock back and forth. Already the effects of the games are taking toll, making me feel crazy.

I feel soft sheets underneath me and realize I'm in bed. I don't know how I got there, because I don't remember getting out of the bath. It doesn't really matter. I stare at the ceiling, knowing I won't be able to sleep.

I start too count sheep to try and help me fall asleep, but I keep losing count. My mind keeps wandering, images of dead tributes flashing across my mind. There's Isla, small, a giant knife through her stomach. Michael, still smiling, his head decapitated. I shudder, opening my eyes again. Every time I close them, all I see is death.

I know the games have already started. And I know I'll never be allowed to leave them.

* * *

I'm sorry if this is a little rushed, but I'm trying to hurry it up for the games. Thank you for all your comments! It means a lot. So the next chapter is the games! Is everyone excited? :3 I myself can't wait too start writing it!


	8. Into the Arena

I lay in bed; my eyes dry and itchy from keeping them open for so long. I know I should've tried to sleep, but I couldn't. The sun is slightly rising now, and I know soon I'll be getting up. There's a quiet knock on my door and it opens. I sit up and see its Molly, coming in to help get me ready. I crawl out of the covers, sitting on the edge of my bed. I clench the blankets tightly in my hand, feeling another wave of fear wash over my body. She puts me in a simple outfit, a long sleeved white shirt and black pants. She helps me off the bed and pulls me into a hug.

I don't hug her back, just stand there. I need to be strong today, and hugging her back would probably cause me to burst into tears. She pulls back, wiping away a tear of her own, and leads me to the door. Rubbing my shoulder, she opens it and motions for me to go down the hall. I need to say a few words to her, in case I never do see her again.

"Molly… Thank you. For everything." She waves her hand like it was nothing. "I'll… See you soon." I say, and leave her. Everyone else is here, along with six death eaters, one to escort each of us. We'll go to some building beneath the arena, meet up with our stylists, and then be pushed into whatever horrors they've designed for us. I'm roughly shoved into an elevator by my escort. I glare at him, realizing its Spider, the scarily tall Death Eater from the train ride. He mumbles something I don't catch, so I glare at him harder.

He notices me and laughs. "Be mad all 'ya want, you'll be dead soon anyways." I blink and straighten my body, refusing to look at him for the rest of our ride. He laughs even more at this. I have the strong urge to kick him in his soft spot, but decide against it, I don't want any bruises in the arena.

We're led into a car with a large back seat and I push myself as far away from him as I can. He doesn't say anything, just grunts at the effort of folding his body into the car. I bet any money he was altered to be that tall.

The car ride is only about an hour, and Spider is soon ushering me down a dark stairwell. I don't get to see anything around me because he pushes me in too fast. He hurries me down the hall and into a room, completely empty except for a table and two chairs.  
"Good luck, 'nd may the odds be _ever in your favor"_ He chuckles and slams the large metal door behind him. I sit down at the table, staring blankly at the wall. In the corner of the room is a large cylinder glass tube, but it looks like I can't get in it yet.

The door opens again, and Maud bursts in. He's holding the outfit I'll be wearing in the arena.  
"Piper! So great to see you again!" He comes close and kisses me cheeks. Again with the cheeks! "Let's get you into this outfit and ready!" He sounds excited. I let him pull the shirt over my head, and he hands me a new pair of pants to put on. Looking down, I see he has be dressed in a light blue tunic, with a dark brown belt around my waist, that has pockets for holding weapons and pouches for holding other necessary items. Since he left my white shirt on, the white sleeves are covering what the tunic doesn't cover on my arms. I have tight light brown pants that are silky and seem to stretch easily. Lastly, I have knee high leather boots that are the same color as my belt. He puts my hair into a French braid, reminding me of Molly.

"You look fantastic!" He gushes. "They got all the tributes in such adorable costumes this year." I give him a dirty look. Costumes? He doesn't seem to realize he said something wrong.  
"Oh and I almost forgot! Here are you gloves!" He hands me brown, fingerless gloves, that also match my boot and belts. I put them on, they're made of dragon scales, I believe, because they're quite stiff. I clench my fist and unclench it again.  
"Oh look, everything fits so perfectly!" He clasps his hands together. I sigh; I thought he was different than the usual stylists. I so wish Shay was my stylist. Though I'm not sure he'd be good at picking outfits.

"Um, Maud, do you know Shay? He's a trainer." Maud cocks his head to the side, putting his fingers under his chin. "Nope! Can't say I do. Why?"  
I sigh again, my mood dropping. "I wanted to say good bye to him. Do you think you could find him for me, and tell him I say thanks?"  
His expression softens. "Sure thing. It's the least I can do."

I'm not sure why I like Shay so much. I just feel like he'd be a good person to know. And, he sort of reminds me of Draco. I don't know how, but I just get the same vibe off of him as I did Draco.

"So, do you want anything to eat? We have about five minutes before you need to go up." Maud asks me. Five minutes. I feel as if the small breakfast I had in the car is about to come up. I don't want to eat anything, in case I throw it up, but I know I probably should.

I settle for nibbling on some biscuits and sipping hot chocolate. Five minutes to go. Four minutes. Three. Two. One.  
Maud takes me food and I stand up. I take deep breaths as I walk over to the tall cylinder. I can't afford to be nervous; it will cause me to make stupid mistakes. I clench and unclench my fists, grinding my teeth together. This is the moment I've been waiting for. I step inside and the glass walls close around me. I don't turn around to look at Maud, instead raise my chin and wait. After a few seconds, a pleasant female voice comes on, telling me the cylinder will be rising, and I will be in the arena shortly. She reminds me as I rise, and probably all the other tributes, that stepping off the platform to quickly will result in death. We must wait 60 seconds before we can start. A bright flash of light, and I'm in the arena.

It's a giant clearing. Around me, huge hedges, with gaps in them, and what look to be paths leading in many different directions. There's large tree's on the other side of the hedges, but this clearing is empty, except for the Cornucopia and its goodies. I can see the array of weapons, bags filled with survival tools, and little random things. My eyes lock on a black back, and I can see it has two daggers on each side, and is aligned with many small knives. It's not too far away, but it's also amongst many other bags. I look around for Isla and Michael. Islas opposite of me, her eyes wide with fear, but surprisingly, her stance is strong. Michael's four tributes down from me, not even looking at anything except for a huge sword in the heart of the Cornucopia. I pray he doesn't get hurt well trying to get it. I don't want to look at the other tributes, so I focus on the bag of knives. The countdown begins, loud in the completely silent forest.

60.  
59.  
58.  
57.  
Take a deep breath Pip, you'll be okay.  
56.  
55.  
54.  
53.  
I can hear my heart beating, so loud, almost like a drum. I wonder if any of the other tributes can hear it. Or is their own heart beating too loudly?  
52.  
51.  
50.  
I feel people's eyes on me, and I look up and realize its Kelly. I shake my head, trying to keep my focus off her. I don't want to be threatened by anyone now. I need to stay in my own little word.  
40.  
39.  
38.  
37.  
36.  
35.  
34.  
33.  
32.  
31.  
20.  
The numbers flash across my mind, bold and blood red. My death is so close I can taste it. I realize I've been biting my tongue, and that's actually what I taste. I loosen my jaw, shaking my head again. I need to remain calm.

10.  
Breath, Pip.  
9.  
Inhale.  
8.  
Exhale.  
7.  
Inhale.  
6.  
Exhale.  
5.  
You.  
4.  
Will.  
3.  
Not.  
2.  
Die.  
1.

The gong goes off, loud and clear. I can't hear anything as I jump from the pedestal, using the moment to get to my bag faster. I grab it, releasing a breath I didn't realize I was holding. I sling it around my shoulders, pulling out a dagger, and whipping my head around. I see someone's fist coming towards me, and instantly duck. It misses me completely, and without thinking, I grab the arm and slam my opponent into the ground, slicing my dagger straight into their throat. The blood sprays in my face, covering it with its warm stickiness. I recognize my target, Jack Stevensun, the Hufflepuff tribute. He tries to make a noise, but it comes out as a gurgling sound, causing more blood to spray at me. His eyes widen for a moment, before rolling back into his head. I gasp slightly, pulling my dagger out and staggering away. Somewhere, my mind registers Kate's anguished howl. Acting on instinct, I grab the bag Jack had been holding, and flee. I look around, and see Isla cowering away from Preena Little, a Slytherin tribute who's advancing on her.

I move away from the brawl, trying to get to Isla as fast as I can, because it looks like she doesn't have a weapon. I slip by Kelly, who's removing her scythe from Jeremy Huggunts stomach.  
Pulling out a knife from my bag, I whip it at Preena. It hits her in the thigh, causing her to scream in pain and fall down.  
"Isla!" I call, sprinting over to her. She moves closer to me, but stays near the opening in the hedge. I reach her and kick Preena in the face, sending her sprawling. "Where's Michael?" I ask her frantically. I can't see him through the mass of fighting people.  
"H-he w-was jus-just here. We-went back for an-another bag" She whimpers. Damnit Michael! This is the stuff that gets you killed, being over confident and taking too much. Isla notices the blood on my face and uses her sleeve to whip it up. Were more away from the crowd, so I don't think anyone will bother us, especially because I think I look crazy.  
Michael appears out of nowhere beside me, breathing deeply. He's covered in blood, and I have no idea if it's his or not. I don't bother asking him, all I want is to get away from this. Other tributes are already scattering, heading down other paths.  
"Let's go!" I instruct, turning and heading down our path. No one argues and we jog down, trying to get away. The hedge remains at our sides, following us. It opens up sometimes, and I realize.  
This is a giant maze.

"We'll continue to go straight." I order. Michael just grunts, and Isla doesn't say anything. We move quickly, turning and twisting, and once we were actually forced to turn around. We run for what seems like hours. All I can think of is how I killed Jack. The feeling of my knife sinking deep into his skin still lingers on my hand, which is still tightly gripping the said weapon that ended his life. Finally, I feel I can run no more, and ask them to stop for a second.

We're pretty far away; I can't hear the sound of screaming anymore. Isla tells me there was a little dead end a bit back that would be great for hiding. We walk slowly to it, and she's right. It's dark and hidden from the path, I didn't even notice it. I thank her and we sit down, exhausted.

I open the two bags I got and check what I've got. For starters, I have two daggers. I hand one to Isla, because she'll need a weapon. In total, I have 19 knives. I curse as I realize I left the twentieth in Preena's leg. Opening the weapon bag, I find a rope inside, along with a sleeping bag. I open Jack's bag, and find a small amount of food, a canteen that looks like it's made out of some animal hide, and proves to be empty, and matches.

"What did you guys get?" I ask them quietly. I'm too nervous to speak loudly. "I got some food, an empty canteen, some rope and matches, and a sleeping bag."

"That's good." Michael whispers back. "I got rope, food, and a canteen too. I also got some medicine. I think. Its pills. It say's to take for pain." I nod, feeling a bit better.

"Isla? Did you get anything?" She nods quickly, pulling out a deep purple bag.

"Potion ingredients." She says proudly. "I can heal you with it, or kill people with it." I stare at her in shock. Not only did she not stutter, but she didn't even blink when she said she'd kill people. I sort of regret giving her one of my daggers.  
Some of the hair has come out of my braid, making a haze around my face. I blow it away, annoyed. Michael grunts, and I look at him.

"We should probably look for a source of water." He says. I sigh, feeling far too comfortable here. I know water will be inventible though, so I stand up.  
"Hopefully there's something close." I stretch. Maybe I'll be able to wipe the rest of the blood off my face if we get too a water source.

We stumble around, not really paying attention, lost in thoughts. I broke off a branch from a tree and started slowly slicing it with my dagger. I wonder what the people at home are thinking. I doubt anyone's hoping I last much longer. I can almost picture Molly, standing by some cocky death eater, trying hard to make it look like she wasn't watching the games on the huge screen, but also not being able to take her eyes off it.

We're still wandering, looking. I'm not entirely sure how we're supposed to find water in a maze. Maybe only sponsors can send us water. It's already been dark for a while by the time Isla suggest we set up camp.  
"Where should we stay? I don't think hiding in the middle of the path is going to be very helpful." I snort.  
Michael frowns, chewing on his lip. "I think this maze has random clearings throughout it. I've seen a couple. We could camp there. I think we're going to be safe for tonight at least. And one of us can keep watch."  
I agree, and we double back to an empty clearing we passed early. It's small, barely enough room for the three of us to lie down.

I offer to take first watch. We spread out my sleeping bag and Isla and Michael bunk right down, somehow falling asleep effortlessly. I stare up at the sky, knowing the anthem should start playing soon, showing us the dead tributes. Looking at the star filled sky, I wonder if it's real or fake. If the moon I'm staring at is merely an illusion. Maybe it's not even night time. Maybe it's actually day.

I nudge my empty canteen, feeling annoyed. Where the heck is water? We won't last long without it. Couldn't they make it easier to find? I know starvation and dehydration isn't a popular way to die. Hopefully we'll come across a pond or something tomorrow. I tap my fingers against my legs, wondering how the other tributes are doing. Many will be injured from the blood bath. I wonder how Kyle and Kelly are doing. They now know I've chosen to ignore their invitation, will they try to deliberately seek me out for it? I hope not.

The anthem plays, a harsh harmonic melody. The fallen tributes begin to flash.

Cynthia Mox and Jake Parksley, two Slytherin tributes appear first.

Jeremy Huggunt is the only Gryffindor to die today.

Alexis Clint, Sylvia Dunt and Jack Stevensun appear next. I swallow hard as Jack's young face appears.

Jill Page and Dylan Kowlswell are the dead Ravenclaws. Dylan's face flashes, and then the anthem and images disappear.

The forest falls silent again. Eight tributes dead. Sixteen left. I know for a fact Preena is injured, and there has to be a couple for injuries. I bite my lip. Sixteen more people stand in the way of my life. I glance down at Michael and Isla, sleeping. Could I kill them? That would leave me with only fourteen tributes. No, I need them. They can help me take out the others. I twitch. These thoughts shouldn't be going through my head.

My mind wanders to Jack. His death is replayed through my mind. I didn't even think as my knife slide effortlessly through his soft skin. Did he believe he had a chance? Did he think he would be able to go home and see his family? What if he had a younger sibling at home, who was praying to whatever god there is for their older brother to come home?

I'm so guilt ridden about his death. _It doesn't matter, Pip. It was either him or you._ I tell myself. I still know that's no excuse for killing someone however. I'm a murderer, plain and simple.

I hear something, and quickly get up, my fingers moving towards one of the knives on my belt. I peer around the corner of the hedge, and see someone making their way towards my hide out. I squint, looking at who it is. They're tunic is bright red, so they're a Gryffindor. They get nearer and I'm able to make out who it is, Alyssa Kigg. I take a deep breath and aim with my knife. She's got a weapon herself, a good sized axe.

She pauses for a moment, listening. I take this as my opportunity and throw my knife at her. It plunges deep into her skull. I gag for a moment, and she crumples to the ground, but I know she's not finished yet. Taking my trusty dagger, I tiptoe over to her. She's moaning, curled up on her side.  
_Oh god_ I think. _I have to kill another one._ I bring my knife down quickly, wanting to end this for her. It plunges straight through her heart. The cannon fires, signalling the end of the game for her. I retrieve my weapons from her body, and take hers as well, using my fingers to close her eyes forever. I hurry back to the camp spot, taking my position again, covered in even more blood, twitching slightly.

Fifteen tributes left.

* * *

And finally! We're into the arena.

I've been sick so I've had a lot of time too write, which is why the updates are coming in a bit faster.

Thanks again for reading, and the next chapter will hopefully be up soon!


	9. I'm a monster

Michael woke up halfway through the night to trade places with me. I hadn't realized it, but while I was sitting there I had been digging my nails into the earth, ripping it up. He said I was too tired and needed sleep, that was it. I told him Alyssa had tried to sneak up on us but I'd managed to kill her without making much noise. I handed him the axe she had and crawled into the sleeping bag, next to an unconscious Isla.

"Will you have her take watch?" I ask, staring up at the sky. I see him shake his head out of the corner of my eye.  
"Probably not. If someone ever got near us, she'd probably just shake. I'm really hoping her potions talent comes in handy, because, and don't tell her I told you, other than that she's pretty useless."

I shrug. "If we ever need a distraction for a quick getaway…."  
We both fall silent after that. I'm trying to keep my mind off of Jack and Alyssa, but it's hard. I keep seeing their faces, moments before they died. I shake my head vigorously, trying to clear my thoughts. I sigh and roll onto my side, closing my eyes. I guess if I want sleep, the nightmares will be inventible.

When I finally do fall asleep, it seems to be for only a few seconds, and Michaels waking me and Isla up.  
"Today's the day we find water" He announces. I sit up, my back hurting slightly from the uncomfortable ground.  
We eat a bit of the food I managed to get from the Cornucopia, but it's basically only dry fruit and nuts.  
"When we find some water" I say, putting another peanut into my mouth. "I'll set up some traps with the rope, see if I can catch anything. It'd be better if the rope was thinner though." I shrug. "It'll have to do."

We stand, cleaning up our tiny camp, trying to make it look like we were never here. I look down the path and see the earth stained red from where Alyssa died, but her bodies been removed sometime during the night.  
We walk, me using my knife to skin a branch. Michael asks me who died yesterday, since he was asleep for the announcement.  
I scrunch my nose up, trying to remember.  
"Err, Cynthia Mox and Jake Parksley from Slytherin. Alyssa Kigg and Jeremy Huggunt from Gryffindor, but Alyssa didn't die in the bloodbath." I say sadly. "And from Hufflepuff, Alexis Clint, Sylvia Dunt, and Jack Stevensun." I don't tell them it was me who killed Jack, but I'm guessing from the look on my face as I say his name they have a pretty good idea who killed him. "And then from Ravenclaw it was Jill and Dylan."

We walk in silence, mourning the loss of our classmates. My throats starting to get itchy from the lack of water. Where the heck is some water? We walk for ages; the only sound is my knife scratching against the stick. My stomach grumbles, not used to so little food, but I have to ignore it.

"This is useless." I groan. "We're in a giant maze. For all we know, we could be going the wrong way!" Michael turns around and glares at me. "We have to keep trying, Pip."  
"I know we do but, how do we even know we're going the right way? What if we just wander around uselessly and die because we can't find any water?" I bit my cheek to stop myself from completely exploding. I need to calm down.

Michael opens his mouth to speak again, but Isla's voice rings out before he can say anything.  
"Y-you two st-top fighting!" I turn to frown at her but find she's pointing at something. Michael and I exchange a look and move towards where she's pointing. Another giant clearing, but this time, most of it is water. Clean, clear, water.

I almost run up to it, but Isla holds me back. I'm about to call her a nasty name, but she quickly says, "W-we have to-to make su-sure there's no on-one else here." I feel like an idiot and shake her off. "Right." I mutter.

We creep silently up to the lake. It's pretty big, and I can barely see the other side. Squinting, I see a couple tributes scattered around the lake. They're all pretty far away from each other, but I can tell they all know who's here. I can't tell who it is, but I count about four tributes in total. I wouldn't be surprised if there were more hiding though.

We check the water, Isla moving forward and checking if it's been contaminated. After a series of odd tests, she deems it drinkable. We fill out canteens, drinking as much as we can, and fill it again. I move off to set a couple of simple traps up, hoping for something to eat tonight. Our little edge of the lake has a giant tree, and I can see Michael already getting comfortable at the base of it. I frown, standing beside him.

"What are you doing?" He's building a fire, it's obvious, but I don't know why.  
"Making a fire…." He replies, using a tone that implies I'm stupid.

I struggle to not beat the crap out of him. "You do realize people will probably see the smoke and head over here, right?"  
"No, because when we we're on that path, you could barely see above you. No one will see unless they're in this area." He gestures to the lake. "And I don't think anyone here is going to fight us."

"Fine" I snap back, and begin pulling myself up the tree. "But if anyone comes, just know I'm not helping you." I sit between two large branches, feeling comfortable here. I'm lying, if someone did come, I'd help him. Sitting in the tree, I shift some branches around, making a little nest for myself. I use my sleeping bag and wrap it around the makeshift nest as if to line it, and place the remainder of the bag around me. It's really warm and quite cozy. I peer down and see Michael has gotten the fire going, and Isla's by the lake doing something.

I doze off, lulled to sleep by the warmth. I wake up as Isla returns, a small smile on her face, holding two giant fish. I gasp and jump down.  
"Isla! How'd you get that?" She shrugs, looking down. "I-I practiced a b-bit during trai-training." Michael grins. "We can eat one tonight! Great job Isla." Her face reddens.

"I-It's n-no problem" She hands the fish to him. "M-maybe you could cook it, a-and Pip and I could go ch-check out her tr-traps and see if we c-can find some berries?" I nod.

"May as well, I've got myself set up in the tree so I've got nothing else to do."

Michael looks up from the fire. "Did you take the sleeping bag?" I nod again, and his shoulders slump slightly.  
"Okay, I guess Isla and I will just have to make do with the fire." I feel bad, but it's survival for the fittest, and that tree is basically the safest thing to camp in. Besides, it is my sleeping bag.

Isla and I walk off, moving around the lake. I check my traps, and am pleased to find I've got a decent sized rabbit in one. I grab it and use the rope to tie it to my belt so I don't have to hold it. Isla and I continue on, searching every bush we find.

I look at the base of one and find small wild strawberries. I grin and slip all of them in my pouch except for one, and eat it, savoring the taste. I sit up and go back to where Isla's also found some wild strawberries. We meet up and compare our load, and we've got enough to probably last us the night and a bit for the morning.

We hurry back to Michael, who's cooking one of the fish, and show him what we got. He smiles.  
"Looks like we won't be going hungry anytime soon."

I put the rabbit in my bag, after wrapping it in some of the leaves on my tree. Using another leaf as a sort of bowl, I put my strawberries on it and look at the tree. It's close to the giant hedge, and there's a little space where Michael and Isla could sleep. I set to work on using branches from the hedge and tree to make them a little bit of a roof. It's difficult, and I keep getting slapped in the face by a stupid branch, but it helps take my mind off things. Isla's doing something with a bunch of branches and leaves she got while we were berry picking, and Michaels looking out across the lake at the other tributes. I'm hoping that there's something interesting going on elsewhere, so the game makers don't put some horrible effect on us to get some excitement.

I finish, and their little hut doesn't look that bad. It could use a lot of fixing up, but I did my best. I sit beside Isla, and realize she's making things out of the sticks and leaves. She's already made three bowls and is moving onto making a sort of blanket thing, probably something for them to sleep on. I watch her for a bit, and begin helping her. Michaels back, looking around, making sure no one comes. But I think we'll be safe tonight.

He calls us over to tell us the fish is ready. We sit around the fire, and eat it. It's not as good as the fish at the Ministry, but it does taste good, surprisingly with the berries.

"Did anyone die today?" Michael asks, his mouth full.

I shake my head. "I didn't hear any cannons." We continue to eat in silence. I take a sip of my water, staring into the bright flames of the fire. It's only been two days. I'm glad no one's died today, but that also means if nothing happens tomorrow the game makers will force something to happen.

I finish my dinner and climb back into my tree.

"Michael, I'll take first watch?" I peer down and see him nod, putting the fire out. "I'll wake you in a bit. Night you two."

They slip into their mini hut without another word. I can almost taste the awkward, and I have to suppress a laugh. Then a harsh though comes to my mind. _Too bad they'll only be alive for a couple more days…_ I shake my head and look around the camp. No one's here. I shift in my bed, looking at the path we originally came from. Still no one here. I listen intently, before groaning slightly. It's silent.

I suddenly wonder, what if one of the tributes on the lake come find us? If they were watching us intently, they could know where we were sleeping. I sit up again, sitting on the edge of the branches, staring at the ground with such ferocity the phrase "if looks could kill" pop into my mind. I have an actual knife ready in case. I swear I keep hearing something. Deciding that waiting in this stupid tree won't help; I quietly climb down and move silently towards where I think I've been hearing the noises. I see something out of the corner of my eye and snap my head around, but find nothing. I blink rapidly, trying to clear my head. I look around again, but decide it's just my mind playing tricks on me.

I head back to the camp, only to find it completely covered in a thick blood. It's everywhere, leaking out of the roots of the tree, staining the lake, pouring down from my hideout in the tree. I gasp, stepping back and falling over something. I look down and see Jack's face staring back at me. But it's not really Jack. His eyes are missing, replaced by large black abysses. His face is rotting, one of the cheeks ripped, exposing his mouth, which is moving, as though to say something, but no words come out. It's hard to tell what he's trying to say, because his lips are so disfigured, but I can make it out.

"_You did this_"

I let out a piercing scream and my vision fades; the last thing I see is Jack's empty eye sockets.

* * *

aaaaaaaaaaaaand heres the second day in the games! yes, no deaths today. But I've gotten something planned for tomorrow! what do you think will happen? ;)

it's a long weekend, so hopefully I'll be able to update soon! à bientôt!


	10. I wanna be stronger than Oceans

I regain my conscious, but I keep my eyes shut. I can feel someone shaking me, and I shudder, knowing its Jack's decayed body.

"Pip!" I can hear someone calling my name, but I don't dare open my eyes out of fear. I inch my hand towards one of the knives on my belt, but feel someone's warm hand press my hand down; and I can't move. My eyes fly open in shock, and I see Isla's face in the moonlight. She's pinned both of my arms down and is staring at me with wide eyes.  
"Isla!" I choke out. "Move! I see, I saw Jack! All the blood! What happened?"

She blinks in confusion. "Nothing happened, Pip. There's no blood." I sit up quickly, pushing her small body and looking around. Just as she said, there's no blood. The camp is calm, the lake clear and reflecting the bright moon, and Jack is apparently nowhere to be found. The thing I tripped over was just a root.  
"I, I thought… I thought something happened" I whisper, looking around in shock. All that I had seen, was that just a hallucination? I really needed to just calm down.

Isla shakes her head, leaning back on her heels. "Nothing's happened. I heard you fall and scream, so I came over to make sure everything was okay. Michael didn't hear anything, he's still asleep."  
I gulp. The games really were taking their toll on me.

"Oh. I guess I'm just tired." I say. "Just… go back to bed; I'll wake Michael up in a bit." She nods, looking uncertain, but hurries off. I sit at the base of the tree, rubbing my face. Everything seemed so real… but it wasn't, I made it up. I get up again and walk around, rolling my shoulders.

Great. Like anyone's going to sponsor an insane tribute. But I did brush it off as just being tired. Hopefully most sponsors are dumb enough to believe me. Not that I need any sponsors right now… We're doing pretty well. Until one of us dies, that is.

I want to start the fire up again so I'm not alone in the dark, but I know it's not a good idea. I groan and slide back down the tree, but I'm so restless I'm soon up again.  
Did anyone hear me scream? Are there tributes on their way over right now to try and kill us? I'm such an idiot.

I'm still freaking out about my hallucination. What if I keep imagining things? Why did I even imagine all that in the first place? I march back and forth, my eyes darting around, making sure we're alone. But even if someone did come to attack us, how could I know for sure they're real?

I'm so stressed. I need something to occupy my mind. So I take long tendrils of grass, remember what Isla and I did early, and begin to weave things. I don't really realize what I'm doing, just sort of twisting and moving my fingers. By the time I've finished, it's just a huge grass tarp, but it's horrible done and looks like it'll fall apart any minute. I sigh and look up. I'm not sure how long I've been sitting here, but it looks like the moon has moved considerably across the sky, so I guess I may as well wake up Michael.

Dragging my grass tarp behind me, I go to where Michaels sleeping and wake him up. He groans and sits up, rubbing his eyes.  
"Your turn to take watch" I whisper, and quickly retreat, climbing up the tree. I slide the grass matt underneath my sleeping bag, even though it's already coming undone, and curl up, wrapping my sleeping bag around me like a cocoon.

I can't get the image of Jack out of my mind. He looked so pitiful. So helpless. And it's my entire fault. All my fault… I didn't have to kill him. I could've just pushed him away. I can still feel my knife drive into his neck, sliding quickly into the soft flesh, his warm blood splattering on my face. I think of my next victim, Alyssa. I didn't have to kill her either. I could've waited to see if she would've noticed us before I took any action. But instead I ended her life without so much of a blink of my eyes.

I realize I'm shaking, and take a few deep breaths to calm myself down. It wasn't really my fault I guess. It's either me or them. I can't think of the consequences of killing them. Each death is one step closer to me getting out of this hell hole. It's a horrible thought, but it's true. It's sort of like an hourglass. Every time someone runs out of sand, mine is flipped, and I get more time to live.

_Just don't think when you have to kill someone_ I tell myself. _Just wait till you're out of the arena. Then you take this silly guilt trips_.

I need to act as sort of a robot. Remain emotionless. Don't think, just do. Much easier said than done though.

I hear a tinkling sound, and snap my head up quickly, only to see something floating towards me. I squint, and realize. It's a parachute! My first sponsor has decided to appear. I reach up and grab it quickly, greedily opening it. I realize there's a note sitting on top of whatever was given to me, and I read it confusedly.

"_Keep your chin u. –S"_  
S? Who the heck is S… Oh, Shay! Wait, Shay is sending me things? I didn't know trainers could do that. Then again, I don't think they are… He must've broken some rules to send this to me. It warms my heart, to know he's still thinking of me. I tuck the note into my belt, not wanting the cameras to see it and catch Shay's act. I open the pot, and see it's filled with warm broth. It's not much, but I'm guessing it cost him a lot, and he probably doesn't get that much money from his job. I smile gratefully, hoping the cameras are on me so he can see it.

I drain the warm liquid quickly, happy to have something warm before bed. Maybe it'll even let me get a full nights rest with no nightmares. Setting the empty bowl aside, I scoot down and lay down again, still smiling from Shay's gesture. I close my eyes, snuggling deeper into the sleeping bag, and wait for sleep to come.

I hear someone calling my name and I open my eyes, blinking at the harsh light. It's morning now. I sigh; I actually had a decent sleep. No nightmares plagued my dreams, but I did have a weird dream with Shay and I. We were two giant birds, flying over the arena, looking at all of the dead bodies. But they weren't really dead, just lying peacefully in a bed of beautiful flowers. It really was weird.

I climb down from the tree and plant my feet on the ground, and look around. My third day into the arena. Still fifteen tributes left.

I see Michaels already cooked up our second fish. Isla's getting us all water, so I make my way over to the small fire and sit down, grabbing my share of the food. We eat in silence, not really knowing what to say.

We finish our small meal and to avoid the awkward situation, I go to the lake to wash up. Peering across the vast amount of water, I can make out the colors of the shirts of the other tributes. One green colored shirt, one yellow, and one red. Which means one person from each house is by this lake. I wonder if the other tributes have a different water source, or if they're all here, only hiding. I wash my face, scrubbing the dirt off my nails and face. The other tributes don't pay much attention to me; they probably don't want to start a fight.

I come back to where Michael and Isla are, and find Michael eating the last of his food. I glare at him, putting my hands on my hips.

"What do you think you're doing?"

He looks up in surprise, a cracker hanging from his lips. He shoves the rest in his mouth and replies.

"Eating… I'm still hungry." I narrow my eyes, rage boiling at his stupidity. "And what exactly do you expect to eat tomorrow?"

"Your rabbit…" His face falls slightly, but I don't soften my gaze.

"We're having that tonight. Between the three of us, it'll probably be gone by morning. And then all we have left is a small bit of fruits and nuts. Then what?"

"Oh yeah… I forgot." And he calls himself a Ravenclaw?

"Look, you need to remember to think ahead. You can't just go-" I'm silenced by a loud boom. Isla nearly jumps out of her skin, shrieking in surprise, while Michael and I instantly grab our weapons and make defensive poses, looking around.

"Who do you think that was?" He whispers, looking at the sky. I shrug. "Guess we'll find out tonight."

I hear a piercing scream, and another boom. Acting on instinct, I run over and climb up the tree, peering down. If anyone comes, my best defense is to hide up here. Michael glares at me.

"Get down here! If anyone comes I can't fight them alone!" He looks around worriedly again, backing up closer to the tree. Isla's taken cover in the hut, shivering in fear. "Isla!" He calls to her. "Get your knife out!"

"I'm staying right here" I hiss down at him. "If anyone comes I'll throw one of my knives at them." His grip around his axe tightens, and he nods.

"True. Okay. Isla, get out here!"

She moves out, holding the dagger I gave her, and looks around fearfully.

We remain like this for quite some time, none of us speaking. My hearts in my throat, pounding loudly.

"I think whoever it was is far away. I think we're safe." Michael nods again. "Michael, maybe you and I should scout around, make sure we're okay. Isla can start skinning that rabbit."

I come down and put my hand on his shoulder. He tenses, but agrees. Isla still looks scared out of her mind, so I go over and curl her fingers around her knife. "Don't be scared to use this. It's them or you." She looks down, biting her lip. I jerk my head. "Come on Michael."

We walk around for a bit, looking cautiously around corners, but find nothing. Whoever killed those tributes seemed to not have been near us, or have already vanished. It's getting dark, so begin to walk back to camp.

"Don't tell her but… I kinda regret recruiting Isla. She doesn't do anything."

I shrug, looking ahead. "You wanted her."

"I was thinking strength in numbers. But she's not really strong… and she doesn't do much but take up resources."

I roll my eyes a bit, but silently agree with him. We probably would be much better off without Isla.

"So kill her then." I reply, keeping any emotion out of my voice. He gapes at me, but I ignore him. "If she's that much of a nuisance, we may as well get rid of her now, right?"

He shakes his head quickly. "No, I won't kill her. I won't do that."

"Exactly. Her time to shine will come soon, don't worry." We reach the camp, seeing Isla already has started a fire and is cooking the rabbit. "Everything happens for a reason."

This day has gone by pretty fast, but I'm not complaining. The faster the better. The rabbits gone in a matter of seconds, it's delicious meat flavoring my taste buds. I didn't get much, because we saved a bit for tomorrow, but I guess I shouldn't complain. I bet some tributes haven't even eaten since the first day.

"So with those two dead… That leaves us with thirteen tributes left" I say casually. Michael nods, thinking.

"Maybe tomorrow I'll go out and check out the others on the lake, see what we're up against. From the look of things, they're not going to attack us. That being said, they may just be waiting for the perfect opportunity. Pip, you and Isla can stay back and see if you can get some more food."

"Sounds like a plan." I lower my voice, leaning in. "I'm surprised the audience hasn't gotten bored yet. There hasn't been much fighting. Either there's something really interesting going on, or we're in for a surprise."

The reality of my words sinks in. If we tributes don't kick it up a notch, they'll take matters into their own hands. One year they actually got this giant snake to come in and eat tributes alive. It was pretty disgusting. You could see their body as it moved into the snake. I'm hoping they don't bring out that monster again.

Michael stretches, putting the fire out quickly. "I'll take first watch Pip. You get some sleep; I'll wake you up soon."

Isla raises her hand tentatively. We both give her a funny look, and her eyes widen.

"I- I can t-take first watch… If it-it's okay with y-you…" I hold back laughter at the look on Michaels face.

"I don't think that's a good idea…" I smack him.

"Sure Isla. You should watch for a bit, give Michael and I a rest. Give us a shout if anything's wrong." I walk over to the tree, and Michael grabs my arm.

"What the hell are you doing!?" He glares at me. "Are you trying to get us killed!?"

I shake him off, standing my ground. "I'm trying to give her a chance. We'll be fine. Trust me."

He looks like he's about to argue, but the look I give him makes him sigh. "Fine. But if we die, it's your fault."

"You can be mad at me when we're in heaven" I scoff, and climb up to my nest.

My muscles ache from all the moving around today, and I want nothing more than to just sleep. With Isla taking watch, I can get extra sleep. I hear the anthem start playing, and I look towards the sky to see who died today. I can barely make out the faces through the thick leaves of the tree, but the names glare down at me.

Nichole Shwartez and Mark Jones, two Gryffindors. Like Michael said, that leaves us with thirteen tributes left.

I lie back down and think about this.

11 dead tributes in total. I killed two of them. Twelve more people stand in my way… I need to stop thinking. I throw the sleeping bag over my head so I'm enveloped in total darkness. I let my thoughts train to Shay. I keep his face in my mind as I try to fall asleep.

It feels like only seconds and I'm being woken up. Michael's calling my name quietly. I sit up, shaking my head.

"Okay, I'm coming down." He smiles; looking tired, and heads off to bed. I wonder how long he let Isla guard for. Guess I'll find out later.

I assume its early morning, so this is our fourth day in the arena. I sit down by the lake and wash my face. I feel gross, so I take my hair out of its messy braid and run my wet fingers through my hair. It's still dark out, the moon reflecting off the surface of the water. Our clearing is silent; the only noise is the quiet sound of my splashing in the lake. I scrub my fingers, getting all the dirt and blood off. My clothes smell like absolute crap, so I take my tunic off and wash that too, trying to get the dirt and blood out of it. I splash some water onto my undershirt, but don't take it off. Sighing, I ring my wet shirt out and put it back on. It'll dry out soon.

I stand up and stretch, feeling cleaner. I put my hair back up into a pony tail, kind of upset I can't re-braid it. I laugh a bit, because my hair should be the least of my worries. Back at home, I wouldn't have worried about my hair. Then again, back at home I wasn't on live television for people to see. I'm hungry, but I don't want to eat anything until Isla and Michael wake up, so I end up chewing on my bottom lip.

I try to keep my mind from wandering, again, to Jack and Alyssa. Focusing my gaze on a cricket, I stare intently at it, trying to stay distracted. However, a loud _snap!_ From a tree branch snaps my attention to one of the maze entrances.

Someone's coming.

* * *

ughgugh sorry it took me longer to update, I've had lots therapy and no laptop.

But here it is! Eheh yes, Jack was just an illusion. Who knows, he may _actually_ come back though!

So yepp, here's this chapter, the next one will probably be up in a couple of days :)


	11. I wanna lift Mountains high

I see a brown boot take a hesitant step into our clearing. I pull a knife out and duck low, staring with wide eyes. I hold my breath, my heart beating loudly against my chest; I'm sure whoever coming can hear the loud thumping of it. Time feels as if it's almost stopped, the foot being placed on the ground with a soft _crunch_ of a stick from underneath. The moving stopped for a second, I hear here someone take a deep breath, before taking another soft step.

I'm holding my breath, staring wide eyed as the figure slowly steps into the clearing. It's hard to see in the dark, but whoever it is looks like a girl, with poufy hair and is gripping a weapon. Squinting, I can sort of make out the weapon, it looks like a small spear. I step more behind the tree, hoping too not be noticed.

I make no noise, but her head snaps over in my direction. Green eyes reflect in the moon light, who the hell is this? I can sort of see her squinting also, trying to see me. I take a deep breath and ready myself, getting my knife in position, but suddenly she charges at me, the weapon in her hand looking deadlier and deadlier and she approaches. I throw my knife, and it lodges in her arm, but she keeps running. I'm ripping another one from my belt when she plows into me. I let out a sharp gasp as her spear sinks into my stomach. She knocks me to the ground, and the knife I had been holding falls out of my clutch, bouncing a few feet out of my reach. Quickly, she pins me to the ground by sitting on my waist, pulling the spear out and stabbing me again, this time in my chest. I open my mouth to call for help, but she slams her fist into my jaw, and then covers my mouth with her hand. She hits me again in the head, punching me multiple times, and all I can do is grunt as each blow hits me full force. The pain in my stomach and chest is excruciating, it hurts to breathe, I can't move, and my head is spinning, it feels like a hammer is smashing into my skull. She removes the spear, lifting her arm up too ram it into me again, but suddenly the weight from her is removed. I hear her screech in anger, but it's quickly cut off by a sharp _snap_. After a loud thump, a canon booms.

Who saved me? Was it Michael? Or did whoever attacked me kill my savior, and I'm next? I'm staring straight up at the sky, but I can't see anything, my visions too blurry. A dark object moves in front of my vision, and after that I black out.

The meaning of time is completely meaningless to me. I'm sort of aware of my surroundings, someone touching me, but I'm not sure what they're doing. Someone's speaking to me, but I can't make out what they're saying. I can feel the cool grass on my skin, the warm blood trickling down my jaw from when I was punched, and two burning holes from where I was stabbed, but the rest of my body is numb, I can't feel any of my bones nor muscles.

Every time I take a breath, it feels like someone is ripping me in two, so I slow my breathing, taking slow short breathes.

Is this what it's like too die? I thought death would be more peaceful, but I remind myself this is the Hunger Games, nothing is allowed to be peaceful.

I just want it all too end. This probably is the easiest way to go anyways; I guess it's not as gruesome as some of the other deaths the arena could have in store for me. I'm in a lot of pain, but soon that too numbs with the rest of my body, and it feels like I'm floating. I let out a soft sigh, everything is peaceful.

I can see stars racing past my vision, as if I'm flying through space. I pass galaxies, planets, comets, it's so beautiful, everything is so bright and the colors are so rich. As I'm flying through, I begin to see things. At first I don't know what they are, but they soon become clearer and I realize its faces of people I know. I see Johnny, the loud guy who sits beside me in Defense Against the Dark Arts. There's Missy, a five year old from the orphanage. I start to see tributes, but from the past games. Their sad faces stay in my mind as I move past them. I see Jack and Alyssa, but they don't look angry, just sad. All of them have sad expressions on their face, tears rolling down their blood stained faces. I'm coming up to a bright white star, the light beginning to consume my vision, until it's almost all I can see. I wonder if I'll still be able to get into heaven, even if I'm a murderer.

Just as I'm about to be fully engrossed by the star, I see Shay. I gasp in surprise, and see he's saying something, even though his mouth isn't moving, he just has a worried expression on his soft face. I want to tell him to not worry, that I'm content with dying this way, but his words finally reach my ears.

"_You can't give up yet! Come on, you have to keep fighting. Just a bit longer. You can't die this way! You have so much to live for. I know it's tough, but please don't give up. Everything will be okay, you'll see soon. You just have to pull through this. I know you can do it, you're strong."_

I shake my head, because in all honesty, I'm not strong. I'm a weak, pathetic excuse for a human being. I killed people so that I could live, didn't give their lives any thought.

"_You did what had to be done. Please, for me, you have to stay alive" _He begs. Hm. For him? I could do it. But how am I supposed to live? I've probably lost too much blood. Whoever tried to kill me is probably about to finish me off.

"_Just listen to my voice" _He soothes. _"Ignore everything else, just listen to me"_

And I do. I close my eyes and listen to what he has to say. He's describing his favorite place to me, a private lake, where the leaves are always fall leaves, bright magnificent colors. The water is always warm, a perfect temperature to swim in. The weathers always warm, always, the sky always clear, but on some days there would be clouds, and he would sit for hours staring at them. At night, the water literally reflects the sky, making it look like he's swimming in the universe.

I laugh; there can't be a place like this. But he promises it's real, and promises that when I make it out of the arena, he'll take me with him. Just the two of us. I'm about to reach out to hug him, but I'm suddenly jolted out of my dream world by a sharp stab of pain.

My eyes fly open and I screech in pain, sitting up quickly. I see someone's dark blue eyes staring into mine, and I think its Shay for a moment but no, these eyes aren't as brilliant as his. I blink a couple of times, taking deep breathes, and realize it's Isla. I quickly look beside me, and see a crumpled body on the ground.

It's Kate.

I gasp in surprise, and move to crawl away from her body, but the pain is too much and I fall to the side. Isla helps me up and we limp over to the hut together, not saying anything. She sits me down and looks at me.

"Are you okay? Don't say anything, just nod." She commands.

I nod, slowly, but even that hurts my head. I look down and see she's bandaged up where Kate stabbed me. I can see a bit of red, but Isla quickly assures me she's stopped the bleeding.

"Kate got you pretty bad" She whispers. "J-just missed your lungs actually. It would-would've been r-really bad if she got you there… But I made a potion and saved you"

I stare at her in shock. Isla… saved me? I'm instantly grateful we didn't kill her earlier. If Isla saved me, that must mean she killed Kate.

"Where's Michael?" I ask, wanting to avoid the subject of Kate anyways. I look over and see her body still lying there, looking small and pitiful.

"Looking around, making sure no one else is going to come." She replies, looking around nervously. I don't reply; just close my eyes, hoping the throbbing pain will go away soon.

"Open your mouth" She says. I do, not even bothering to look at what she's doing. A cool liquid slips past my lips, and I sigh as I feel the pain lessen. "It's a pain reliever" Isla tells me. "It should also speed up the healing process. Great potion to know, really…"

I hear footsteps approaching, and hear Isla whip around to see who it is, but when she breathes a sigh of relief I know its Michael.

"Hey, I'm back." He sounds a little out of breathe. "I just had to chase down some Hufflepuff. He got away though…" He sounds a little disappointed, but quickly snaps out of it when I think I hear Isla hit him.

"Oh Pip! How are you doing?" I just grunt in reply, my eyelids already feeling too heavy to open.

"I gave her a potion" Isla whispers angrily. "She'll be asleep soon."

"Oh." Michael whispers back.

They stay silent for a while, until Michael speaks up. "Think she's asleep?"

"Probably" Isla replies. I'm not sleeping though; maybe the she messed up a bit on the potion?

"What do you think we should do? I mean, I doubt she'll be able to fight with her injuries" Michael muses. I feel my heart swell in anger, but I keep my face blank, wanting them to think I'm asleep.

"She'll be better soon, don't worry." Isla's angry hushed voice replies and I can almost imagine her glaring. I'm surprised she actually hasn't stuttered yet. I doubt Michael's noticed, but it's worrying me. Is her fearfulness just an act? Or is she really terrified, but just taking control for now?

"…Was it you who killed the tribute?" He whispers back. I hear a rustle, her nodding? And Michael breathe out "Ohh…"

So Isla did kill Kate. I can't say that I'm upset about that, because Kate was very close to killing me. Hopefully she's happier now, having fun and not stuck in this hell hole.  
"How'd you do it?" Michael asks, but before I can hear Isla's reply, I feel sleep take over, and soon Michael and Isla's conversation fades to nothing.

I wake up the next morning, blinking in annoyance at the harsh light. Michael and Isla are already up, looking tired. I lean my head back against the tree and groan, letting them know I'm up. Isla rushes over to me, a concerned look on her pretty face, and she checks my bandages again.

"Hmm… Good. Not much blood… And it's all dry. Come on, I'll help you over to the lake and we'll clean everything off and get you new bandages." She grabs under my armpits and helps heave me up. I wince in pain but try to stay quiet; I don't want to seem weak.

We limp over to the lake, moving at an agonizingly slow pace. Michaels cooking some weird bird thing that looks like it doesn't even have enough meat on it for all of us, and my stomach growls in annoyance. Isla sits me on a rock and has me remove my tunic, leaving me in only my undershirt. Both shirts have two large holes in them, each deeply stained with blood. I rub my jaw as she sets to cleaning everything, ripping a bit of fabric from her own long tunic and dabbing my wounds.

"You're lucky, a couple of sponsor gifts came in through the night" She tells me. "Not much, just bandages and some healing cream. The thing that saved you last night was my potion"

"Thanks…" I murmur, my face red. Isla saved my life. I can't help but think that hours earlier before, Michael and I had been discussing killing off Isla. But I had refused to let him, so I sort of saved her life too. Still, I'll never be able to repay her for this. I bite my lip and look down as she dabs at the wound on my chest, trying to hold back a cry of pain. I squeeze my eyes shut as she rubs a bit of cream on. It's like ice on my skin.

"There" She says after a bit, sitting back. "It'll probably scar though… But you should be able to at least move in a bit" I thank her and look back up to Michael. He looks thoroughly disappointed with whatever he's doing.

"He caught that this morning" She laughs a bit, her hands on her hips. "Not very big but… It's breakfast."

"We'll have to go out hunting later…" I muse, looking across the lake.

"Oh no, you're not going anywhere. You're staying put all day, you can go out tomorrow." She glares at me. I look back in confusion, but don't argue. In fact, I don't even think as I blurt out,

"Hey, you haven't stuttered much at all"

She blinks in surprise. "I… I haven't?" I shake my head. Her eyebrows crinkle together in confusion, and I can see her neck turning red. "I guess… I'm not afraid anymore. I don't know. Maybe killing Kate snapped me out of everything. I'm starting to realize I can't be afraid if I wanna win" She shrugs and helps me up.

"Ready for breakfast? Or, err," Michael looks up at the sky. "I'd say more like brunch." He hands us each a bit of meat. It's not much and it's very over cooked, but its food. We dig in silently.

"Okay, so today I'm going to go out and get us some food. Isla, you stay behind and guard. Pip, just rest up today" He lowers his voice and ducks his head in, his brown eyes large. "I think with all the action last night… We won't have to worry about the game makers sticking anything on us yet."

"Good." I sigh. "I couldn't deal with that right now" Michael nods, his dark face full of understanding, and he stands up and stretches. "Well, I'll be back in a bit. You ladies stay out of trouble, alright?"

"Not much we can do here…" I reply, and he laughs and leaves, gripping his axe tightly.

"So Isla, how long will this medicine take to work exactly?" I ask, feeling slightly awkward. She tilts her head, thinking.

"Hmm… Well, probably a couple of hours it'll start to kick in. You'll still be in pain tomorrow, but you'll be able to move without as much pain."

"Can I rub my head in that stuff?" I laugh. "I have a killer headache."

She smiles sympathetically at me. "Don't think that'll work."

I sit up straight and look around, frowning. "It's too calm. I don't like it. There has to be something going on somewhere… Or people will start to be getting bored… How many tributes are left?"

Isla doesn't even hesitate. "Twelve. I can tell you who's left if you want…"

Damn, she has a sharp memory. I can't even recall who's left.

"Sure." She pauses for a moment, and then begins listing tributes off.

"Well… From Slytherin, it's Kelly, Preena, but she's injured, John and Kyle. There's only two Gryffindors left, Marissa and Sal. Same goes for Hufflepuff, only Max and Curtis left. And then Ravenclaw is me, you, Michael, and James."

"How the hell did you remember all of that? After all we've been through; I barely even remember what I ate for dinner last night."

She shrugs, blushing. "I have a really good memory…"

"I can tell." We fall into an awkward silence after that. My stomach rumbles again, and I rub it angrily.

"It's our fifth day in the arena. I wonder how much longer we'll be here for?" I say. Isla shrugs.

"It's like a lose-lose situation. The longer we're in here, the worse things are for us. But then if we're not in here, we're most likely dead… Or insane" I nod, chewing on my lip.

The rest of the day passes by slowly, Isla just pacing around camp and me sitting, throwing my knives at random objects. Michael comes back as the sun is setting, his dark skin covered in sweat. I raised my eyebrows at him as he sat down, out of breath.

"I just chased a fuc- a rabbit down some path. Little bugger got away. I did get lots of berries and nuts though. And another bird."

"Thank god, I'm starving." I reply. I slowly stand up, and too my surprise, there isn't as much pain as before. It's still there, but it's dull enough that I can ignore it. If only I could get rid of this stupid headache.

We split the berries and nuts into three piles, and I'm thrilled to see there's enough for tomorrow. Not a lot, but enough. We start a fire, and I look warily at the sky, but it's getting dark and the smoke is undistinguishable against the night sky. The bird is small like last time, but it'll have to do.

I don't let Michael cook this time; instead I push him away and tell him to go get water. He frowns but does as I say, sitting by the water's edge for a bit, just staring across the lakes smooth surface. The meals small and doesn't taste that good, the berries too sour and the nuts too hard. I think of the food at the Ministry. Plentiful, enough for all of us and them some, always cooked to perfection.

My stomach growls again and I mentally hit myself. Thinking about delicious food isn't a good idea when I'm already starving enough. But the mouth watering delicacies back at the Ministry… I could never get tired of those.

"So, Pip shouldn't take watch tonight" Isla says, standing up. "I'll watch first, then Michael. Pip will be able to help out tomorrow though."

God, I literally feel like a useless turtle right now. I blush and mumble "okay" before quickly going back to the tree and climbing up. Pain rips through me and I gasp in surprise, squeezing my eyes shut and clenching my jaw together. Reminder to self, do _not_ climb up that tree so fast.

I wrap the sleeping bag around me like a cocoon and close my eyes, thinking back to my near death experience. I'm so taken aback by the fact it was Kate who nearly killed me. Kate. How the hell did she manage to do that? She looked scared as hell back at training. First she can barely pick up a knife, but then next thing you know she's stabbing you in the chest with one.

And Isla saving me also amazes me. Why would she do that? Honestly, had I been in her position, I would've left myself to die. Maybe Isla wants to make me feel like I owe her something so I won't be the one to kill her. Whatever her motive, I'm sure it wasn't purely because she cares.

Another thing to wonder about is Shay. Why does he keep turning up in my dreams? It's starting to freak me out. I feel like a bit of a creep. We only knew each other for a couple of days, but suddenly he's like my savoir.

Then again, in these dark times I guess we all need something to hold onto, and my mind has chosen Shay. I can feel a longing in my heart, wanting to see him again. What the hell is wrong with me? What's with all these feelings? Chances are I'll never make it out of the arena anyways. Still, the thought of Shay at home, rooting for me makes me feel better, I can't deny it.

I snuggle deeper into the blanket and sigh deeply. Tomorrow will bring a new horror, I'm sure of it. There hasn't been much action since last night; the audience has to be getting restless now. I wonder what the game makers will bring in.

I wonder if I'll be strong enough to survive it.


	12. Bring Back Glory to your Name,

I wake up the next morning feeling even more tired. I don't get up yet, instead sit in silence for a couple of minutes. Today is the sixth day, almost a week since I've been in here. It seems like I've been in the arena much longer though, and I literally feel like I've aged a hundred years.

I lift my shirt up to see the scars. Just as Isla promised, two, dark pink angry marks appear. One is right in the middle of my chest, a long straight line, and the other is more jagged and rough. Both look like they're swelling a bit. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. I lightly touch my jaw, and wince in pain, there's defiantly a dark bruise there. I sigh and roll my shirt back down, slowly climbing out of the tree, not wanting to cause much pain.

I plant my feet on the ground and look around. I'm surprised to find it's just Isla here. "Morning Isla" I call, and she almost falls over in surprise.

"Oh! Pip, I didn't realize you were up." She takes a deep breath. "Afternoon, actually."

"I slept for that long?" I curse under my breath. "You should've woke me up."

"No, you need your sleep." She hands me a bowl with a small amount of berries and nuts in it. "Michaels gone out to see if he can find anymore food but… That's all we have for now." I dig in, feeling hungrier than ever. I'm disappointed to find that I finish my meal much too quickly.

"So it's our sixth day here…" I say, wanting to start up some conversation to cease the awkwardness. She shakes her head.

"Pip, it's the eight day." I blink in shock, my mouth falling open. "What? How did that happen!?"

"You were out for two days. I think I accidentally made the potion a bit too strong… But sleep will help up the speeding process." She bites her lip, her eyes growing larger. "Sorry"

I shake my head, somehow managing to close my gaping jaw. "It's not your fault. I'm just surprised, that's all." Eight days, I muse in my head. So I have been here for over a week. Isla changes my bandages again for me, happy to find no blood. When I mention I think they're swelling, she frowns and double checks me.

"Yes, they defiantly look a little swollen… But it'll go away soon, nothing to worry about." I nod, feeling relieved.

"I think I'll do a little stretching." I get up, dusting my pants off. "Warm myself up." Not that I need too, its way too hot here. The game makers must be sticking this heat on us.

"Lucky Michael." Isla comments as she settles in the shade. "His skin won't burn at all. A sunburn could be really bad here… It can make someone over dehydrated, burn their skin so bad they can't touch anything… Let's hope we don't get burned."

"If we do, I'm sure you'll have a potion that can help us." She laughs, a soft tinkling noise. I find her laugh really pretty, thinking of it.

After doing a couple of stretches, to get my blood flowing, I move back into the shade with her, already wiping sweat off my brow.

"Gosh, it's hot as hell." I mutter as I sit down. "The game makers must be doing something."

Isla nods. "Wonder what they're up to"

I shake my head, looking up. "Not sure, but whatever it is, hopefully they leave us the heck out of it. I've dealt with enough already."

I can feel myself getting restless, so I stand up and move over to our small pile of supplies, grabbing the rope. "I think I'll go set up some traps, see if I can catch anything."

"Sure, just be back quickly." Isla replies. "Michael made it clear he wanted the both of us here." I make a face and hurry off. I don't go too far into the maze, just far enough that anything running around here won't hear us.

It's very calm here. The wind blows slightly, rustling the leaves, and there's enough shade that the sun doesn't beat down on me too much. I can even hear a grasshopper cricketing somewhere. I set two traps and return, finding Isla in the same spot, her small face covered in sweat.

Dusk comes quickly, and the temperature drops drastically. Isla and I have moved into the small hut, and too my surprise it's actually really warm. Someone's taken all the fur and feathers from the animals we've caught and started lining the floor with it. It's not much, but for them, its home. Isla's mimicked the grass tarp I made, except hers is much better than mine, and uses it as a blanket.

"Michael's still not back" She mumbles, looking worried.

"Let's give him a bit longer, and if he doesn't come back I'll go looking for him." Our stomachs growl in unison, and I can feel myself getting more worried.

When he doesn't return, I can feel panic starting to arise. I crawl out, telling Isla to stay hidden and that I'll be back soon.

I arm myself with my dagger and a throwing knife, and move in the direction Isla said Michael went. He has to be smart enough to have stayed in the shade, away from the sun. I want to call out his name, but if he's been injured, there could be a tribute nearby waiting for someone to assist him.

I move deeper into the maze, making sure to remember my steps so I can come back. It's freezing; I can see my breath each time I breathe. Frost has begun to appear on the brambles of the trees. Everything is glistening white, it's breathtakingly beautiful. The leaves on the ground crinkle beneath my feet, creating a quite noise that will let anyone near me know I'm coming. I take care to try and not step on anything.

I'm not sure how long has passed, but it has to have been a while, and still no sign of Michael. How far had he gone? Maybe he had returned to camp already, and they were waiting for me. Just as I'm about to turn back I see something out of the corner of my eye, lying hidden beneath long tendrils of grass. A dark body, breathing slowly. I rush over, praying its Michael, and kneel down. Whoever it is, is lying on their stomach, so I flip them around and breathe a sigh of relief when I see its Michael. My relief quickly turns into a biting worry, as I see Michaels not breathing. There's white foam coming from the corners of his mouth, which is also stained a dark red, blood? And he's twitching slightly. I can see he's holding something in his hands, but his fingers are curled so I can't see what.

"Michael?" I whisper, slapping him lightly on the cheek. "Michael!?" I say more frantically when he doesn't reply.

I push my hair behind my ears and take a deep breath. He's dying right in front of me, what do I do? I'm not sure what's wrong with him, but because of the foam around his mouth, I think he may be poisoned. Should I try to save him or just end his life now? My hands inching towards my belt, to grab a knife. Already my mind is thinking up ways to kill him. I'm holding a knife now, staring at his shaking body. Is there a way to save him? Or has the poison seeped too far into his veins? My bodies acting out of control, the knife slowly making its way to Michael's soft neck. One deep cut, that's all it'll take. And then no more Michael.

Inching, getting closer and closer, the need to kill is intense; I can't see anything except for the glint of the knife. How pretty it would look, stained in scarlet red. The knife seems even shinier pressed against his dark skin. Pushing, getting closer to the end…

I throw the knife away and shake my head, trying to collect my thoughts. I can't kill Michael. What was I doing? I blink rapidly, feeling my shoulders shake. Was I really that close to killing Michael?

He lets out a loud groan and I snap my attention back to him. My focus has to be on him. My personal issues can wait. For now, I need to try and save Michael.

I scoot closer, and press my ear against his chest, listening for a heartbeat. I was in the hospital wing with chicken pox once, and I remember some kid had come in and he hadn't been breathing. The nurse checked for a pulse, and started to give him CPR. If Michael is poisoned though, giving him CPR won't help. I have to get the poison out of his system.

Nodding my head slightly, I move his body so he's sitting up, leaning against me. He sputters, but I can see his chest slowly rise. Acting on instinct, I wrap my arms around his stomach and squeeze. He coughs again, but nothing else happens. I see his hand move, and dark purple berries roll out of his hand. I don't know what it is, but I don't want to find out.

How the hell do you get someone to throw up? I squeeze his stomach again, hoping for better results, but nothing happens. I furrow my brows and think. I could try and stick my finger down his throat… That seems to be the only way, but I'm a bit squeamish about it. There has to be another way! His whole body shudders again, and I push my thoughts, trying to keep my mind blank, as I tilt his mouth open, and quickly shove my finger into it. I retreat quickly as he gags, his body curling up. I squeeze him with all my might, and he coughs loudly, vomit spilling out of his mouth. Oh god, there's so much. Oh ew… I bite my lip and pat his back as he spews disgusting vile out of his mouth. It almost never seems to end. At first, it's a purple-reddish color, but it soon becomes a, hopefully good, yellowy color. I think he's done, and go to move him, but as soon as I touch him he burps and begins throwing up again. His body is twitching like crazy, and I pray I did the right thing. I smack his back hard again, as I've seen one of the nurses do it when a little girl was puking at the orphanage. He coughs up one huge, gross chunk of god knows what, and falls silent. I drag him away from his mess and lay him down again. His breathings returned to normal, I'm praying he's thrown up most of the poison. If I can get him back to camp, maybe Isla can make him a potion or something. I grab the knife I threw and stand up. I have to get him back to Isla.

I pull him to his feet and wrap one arm around his shoulder and the other around his waist, putting his arm around my shoulder as well, but it's pretty clear I'll be dragging him the whole way. Great. If some tribute found us, we'd be no match for them. They could sneak up on me pretty easily. Adding onto the fact I'm still injured from Kate, we would have next to no chances against anyone. I start walking, wobbling slightly because of Michael. I grunt as I nearly trip over a root, but manage to keep us standing.

I'm betting the cameras have been on us since I got at least fifty feet near Michael. Watching me, everybody wondering if I would ever find him, or if I would let him die. Oh, their reactions when I nearly killed him! I can imagine the look of surprise on their stupid faces as I pulled the knife out. The cheers as I was bringing it closer to him, everyone betting on how long he would last. The disappointment when I decided to keep him alive.

"Well, sorry to disappoint." I mutter. "I need allies."

And now I'm talking to myself? Great. I roll my eyes and press on. How far away was the camp again? My eyes are starting to get heavy, my body ready to shut down for a nice long nap, but I keep walking. I guess we could stop and rest, but I'm too stubborn. We have to get back to camp tonight.

I can feel myself getting careless now, not paying attention to what's around me, not listening for any people. It's because of this I don't realize until I nearly step on someone that Michael and I aren't alone. I pull back, fully alert now, and see I've woken someone, who's climbing to their feet quickly now.

In the dark I can't see who it is, but I can see their bulky outline. I toss Michael quickly to the ground, my fighting instincts kicking in. It's almost as if there's another being entirely inside of me, coming out whenever I'm threatened.

I grab my dagger this time, staring my new target down. I see red at the edges of my vision as I recklessly throw myself at them, stabbing blindly. I know when I make a hit, because whoever it is gasps out in pain. I knock them to the ground swiftly, shoving against their stomach. Whoever it is isn't putting up much of a fight.

I can't feel anything again. No thoughts course through my head. All I can see is my pretty knife, covered in bright red. It's painting the scene, red everywhere. Sprayed across my white hands, that seems almost too white against the red. Soaking the orange material of whoever's underneath me. My senses feel heightened, I can hear the deep breathing of my victim, they've stopped screaming now. I can feel the silky fabric and the smooth, soft skin of the person, its sending tingles down my fingers. The smell of blood fills my nose, a sickly sweet smell, so, so sweet. I hear a deep _boom, _and instantly the feeling of ecstasy is gone. The sharp tang of the blood hits me hard; it's not sweet at all. I feel weirdly sticky and disgusting. I shakily stand up, staring in horror at what I've done.

Blood. That is all I see. Blood everywhere. What remains of the human being I _destroyed_ underneath me is covered in it. I'm covered in it. Michael's got some on him. I stumble back, tripping over something, and quickly crawl away.

What have I done?

What have I become?

I'm a monster.

Monster. That is what I've become.

I've ripped apart an innocent human being.

There is no excuse for my actions. What should have been a quick, easy kill turned into a bloody mess. He had just woken up; he didn't know what was going on. How scared he must have been when he saw Michael and I, when he saw me toss Michael, as though it was just some dead body, and go for him.

I couldn't stop myself. I couldn't stop stabbing him. Blow after blow, and even when I could've stopped, I didn't. I kept going. I wasn't able to control myself.

Michael moves in his deep slumber, and I slowly turn my head towards him, gripping my knife. It's time to go.

I pick the both of us back up. I have to be strong. I can't let my emotions get to me. _This was an accident;_ I lie to myself, walking again. _He was trying to hit you back._ _You were just defending yourself._

_Just defending yourself._

_You monster._

No, I can't think like this! Positive thoughts.

_Soon you will be out of the arena. _I tell myself. _You will be back at school. You can enjoy the little things again. I bet you can't wait to have some butterbeer, right?_

I can see the lake. Just a bit more

_The only way you'll get out is if you kill more people._

So close. Isla will be waiting for us.

_Kill more like you killed that innocent tribute. I bet he had a family rooting for him._

Step.

_A little sister, crying and hoping he would come home._

Step.

_Maybe a girlfriend, telling herself he would be safe._

Step.

_Not that you care, right? No feelings, no emotion, you don't care. You didn't care about Jack. Or Alyssa. _

Step.

_Quick kills to get them out of your way. You're a tornado, destroying everything, or everyone in your path._

Step.

Step.

Must.

Ignore.

These.

Thoughts.

_You're just a pathetic excuse for a human being. It's all your fault their dead. All your fault. _

Step.

_You're a monster._

"Pip! You've found him!" Isla's high voice rings out. She's sitting by the tree, a relieved expression crossing her pale face.

I nod in reply and set him down, rolling my shoulders. "Isla, I think he's eaten something bad, and it's poisoned him."

"I can fix that, I think." She sits by the fire and pulls out her bag. "When I heard the cannon, I was worried sick, but it's not you guys so… Oh!" She jumps a little, covering her mouth with her hand. "P-pip! You're covered in b-blood!"

I look down, even though I already know I am. I feel my body, wondering if whoever I killed got any hits on me. I think they got a couple good punches on my arms, but other than that I think I'm fine.

"I don't think any of its mine…" I reply, shrugging sheepishly. All I want to do is sleep.

"I bet you pulled your wounds open." She looks at me, her brow furrowing.

"I'll check…" I mumble, tugging my shirt up. "You just take care of Michael." She nods and returns her focus to him, but I can see she's looking at me from the corner of her eye.

I sigh and pull it up, looking at the two hideous scars. Both an angry red, both swollen, one slowly oozing blood and the other has stains of old blood.

Why is there always blood?

I look around and grab a canteen and pour a bit of water onto my fingers and dabbing the wounds, trying to clean them up. I re-bandage them and pull my shirt back down, hoping they won't bother me. I can already feel the agonizing throbbing beginning to return.

Isla finishes with Michael and puts him in the hut, slowly dragging him in and making sure everything's okay. She returns a moment later, sighing.

"I defiantly think he ate something." She shakes her head. "He is such a brash thinker… I told him not to eat anything until he showed it to me first."

I shrug. "Maybe he got hungry?"

"Still…" She looks annoyed. Before she can say anything else on the subject, I quickly tell her to go to bed, and I'll wake her up when it's her watch. She looks like she's about to argue, but I put my hand up and she frowns and walks away.

Good. I don't think I'll be able to sleep anyways.

I sit down by the tree again and close my eyes. I try to listen to my surroundings. I've done that sometimes in the past, it's helped calm me. But all I can hear is repeated whispers. I listen in closely, trying to hear what they say. It's a single voice, speaking fast. It's getting louder, slowly, but soon I can make out the words.

_Monster. Monster. _

It starts off quiet, but soon that's all I can hear. The sound of it ringing inside my skull, reminding me of what I've done. What I'll do.

_All your fault._

_Look what you've done._

_Monster._

I bring my knees up to my chest and slam my hands over my ears, trying to block out the words. But I can't.

It's all I can hear.

I want to scream. I want to scream at the top of my lungs and run, and never look back. I want to keep running until I can't anymore, until I physically fall over and can't get back up. I want to go home. But I can't. I can do nothing about this. I can do nothing about the fact my whole life has been ripped apart. These people here, running this whole thing, are the monsters, not me!

_But they didn't kill anyone? Did they? _The voice asks. I shake my head slightly.

_Exactly. You chose to kill those __**innocent**__people. Not them. _

My shoulders fall slightly. That is true but… it was either me or them! I have to do what will keep me alive.

_Slaughtering innocent children? Such great priorities, why, you're nearly as bad as the Dark Lord himself!_

This is all too much. I smack my head, trying to get this silly voice out of it. It won't work, just dulls it down to a soft, repetitive whisper of _monster_.

I'm still covered in dried blood. I'm too tired to wash it off, so I just stare at it, wincing at how dirty it makes me feel.

I still don't know who I killed. It's too late now for the anthem to play, so I guess I won't know until tomorrow's anthem. Or maybe they'll make me wait until the end of the games. That is, if I make it that far.

I need to focus on something. Something to distract me. Of course! That place Shay described to me in my dream. That perfect place. Nothing could ruin it.

I try to picture it in my mind. The bright colors of the fall leaves. The crystal clear perfect lake. I try to feel the warmth of the sun on my skin, the warm water lapping at my toes. I almost can, I can almost _taste _it, but soon the water turns into warm blood. The sun turns into dead skin rubbing against me. The lake is filled with blood and bodies. The fall leaves become enemies, each coming to kill me.

Nothing is sacred.

_I'm a monster._

* * *

wow i'm soso sorry for the long update. my moms been really angry lately and took away all my things for no reason...

but that doesn't matter, i got this chapter up :)

hopefully my mom doesn't take my laptop again and i can update soon!


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